Select committee: Human Rights (Joint Committee)
Conclusion 56
2nd Report - Human Rights of Children in the Social Care System in England
Published 27 Aug 2026
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Human Rights (Joint Committee) Human Rights of Children in the Social Care System in England All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Children’s right to independent advocacy must be strengthened. Although there is a statutory entitlement to advocacy services, many individuals are unaware of this or unable to secure advocacy in an appropriate timeframe. We support the recommendation of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care for the implementation of an opt-out legal right to advocacy to all children in care, to automatically connect children with an advocate as soon as they are eligible for one. (Recommendation, Paragraph 264)
From: Human Rights (Joint Committee), 2nd Report - Human Rights of Children in the Social Care System in England (HC 161), 27 August 2026
Government response
No government response linked yet: deadline 27 October 2026, 5 days ago.