In a news item on Parliament’s website published yesterday, specialists in the House of Commons library have put together issues they think the new Parliament might consider in the coming months. As you might imagine, child welfare barely gets a look in.

Whilst legal aid, education-related issues, child poverty and child care are included, the pessimistic and biased commentary in these sections is galling and appears to minimise the issues. One of the more jaw-dropping statements, which can be found within the child poverty segment, reads:

“If the new Government were to accept that the existing [child poverty] targets are not going to be met, it could amend the Child Poverty Act to introduce new, more realistic targets.”

It is evident that this government is going to put reducing debt ahead of preventing child deaths, at every opportunity.

The omission too of the nation’s Statutory Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse is a glaring oversight, as is the pressing concern over the need to debate the development of the voice of the child inside the justice system.

Of interest in this list for some will be the inclusion of discussions which may consider anonymity for defendants in rape cases, the stigma surrounding mental health and assisted suicide.

The proposed key issues can be accessed here with links to each segment, but we also add the issues below for ease of reference: