Children’s minister post needs to be at cabinet level

The position of children’s minister needs to be elevated to become part of the cabinet, delegates at a children’s services conference in London were told today.

Speaking at the event organised by the charity 4Children Anne Longfield, chief executive of the organisation, said that a secretary of state for children was required.

“There is no cabinet minister for children, there is a minister but they don’t have a place at the cabinet table where the big decisions are made and there needs to be,” she said.

Longfield added that children were still a “soft policy” when they needed to be moved “centre stage”.