Section 7: General duty of the Secretary of State to promote the well-being of children in England
26.Section 7 places the Secretary of State under a statutory duty to promote the well-being of children in England. The Secretary of State has, for many years, carried out activities for the benefit of children. In particular, he is required by section 10 of the Education Act 1996 (c.56) to promote the education of the people of England and Wales. This section brings the Secretary of State’s statutory duties into line with his broader policy commitments for children and young people, which have developed in recent years. The Secretary of State now has responsibility for promoting the well-being of all children and young people (and, by extension, their families and those who care for them) as well as their education. The new statutory duty complements the existing duties on local authorities and governing bodies of schools to promote children’s well-being.
27.Subsection (1) places the Secretary of State under a general duty to promote the well-being of children (defined as persons under the age of 18) in England. This general duty is subject to any specific duties on the Secretary of State (subsection (2)).
28.Subsection (3) makes clear that the activities the Secretary of State undertakes to promote children’s well-being include activities in connection with parenting, which includes parental care provided by any person to a child not just that provided by a parent or other person who has parental responsibility for the child.
29.In addition, subsection (4) gives the Secretary of State a statutory power to promote the well-being of care leavers who are over the age of 18 (both former relevant children within the meaning of section 23C and persons qualifying for advice and assistance under section 24) and other groups of persons under the age of 25 who may be prescribed in regulations subject to the negative resolution procedure (see paragraph 18 above for a description of Parliamentary procedures)
30.The section requires the Secretary of State to have regard to the aspects of well-being mentioned in section 10(2) of the Children Act 2004 when discharging his functions under this section. The aspects of well-being mentioned in section 10(2) are physical and mental health and emotional well-being; protection from harm and neglect; education, training and recreation; their contribution to society; social and economic well-being.
31.The section came into force on Royal Assent (see paragraph 160 below) and applies in relation to England only.
