Children’s Human Rights: A new Parliamentary Inquiry into England’s Care System

The inquiry launched on 13 July 2025 will also explore human rights concerns regarding children who are not in care but are disabled and require the support of social services. In addition, the inquiry will look at whether protection under the Equality Act should be extended to care-experienced people, which would provide them with further legal protection against discrimination.

There are currently 400,000 children in England’s care system, and care-experienced people remain an extremely vulnerable community. For instance, they are 70% more likely to die prematurely than the general population.  People who spend time in care are overrepresented in the criminal justice system,  in 2022 just 1% of children in England were in care, but 59% of children in custody had experience of the care system. Education outcomes also reflect these disparities, with less than 14% of care-experienced people starting a university course, compared to 47% of the general population.

These examples highlight the systemic challenges faced by care-experienced children and young people. The purpose of the care system is to improve a traumatic situation by providing children with the stability, safety, and care they should have received within their family. However, this goal cannot be achieved unless the human rights of those in the system are protected. This does not always happen.

We welcome the fact that this Inquiry has been launched. This is an opportunity for Parliament to hear directly from the people who are impacted by issues in the care system. We hope that it reflects a growing interest in children’s rights within a community that is too often overlooked, and a commitment to fostering a culture of human rights where each child is respected.

At Leigh Day, we represent children and young people who are in care, or have been in care, and have suffered breaches of their human rights. Where there have been failures, we can bring legal claims on behalf of our clients to seek redress, often in the form of monetary compensation.

Through our work, we regularly see cases where children’s human rights have not been upheld within the care system. Some of our clients have been removed from their families without proper consideration of alternative options, such as support for the parents. Others were not removed from neglectful or abusive environments when they should have been or have been placed with a family member who was abusive to them without proper risk assessments being conducted beforehand. These issues can, in certain cases, breach human rights law and form the basis of a legal claim.

Currently, the legal protections for children’s human rights within the care system are limited. Even when a child or young person may have a legal case, these claims are challenging to pursue. Obstacles include the high threshold required for establishing a breach of human rights, the availability of funding as well as the tight deadlines for bringing these claims.

The inquiry wants to hear from people who have experience of the care system. You can read more about the inquiry here.

While the survey available to care-experienced people is brief, we understand that reflecting on these experiences is a difficult process. Please take care of your well-being as you respond. If you need any help, you may want to consider accessing the following support:

If you are in care or care-experienced: You can call the Become Care Advice line at 0800 023 2033 from Monday to Friday between 10am and 5pm. You can also write to them by email at advice@becomecharity.org.uk.

If you are in care, leaving care, or in need of help from Children’s Services: You can call Coram. They provide an Advocacy Helpline and can be contacted at 0808 800 5792 from Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 6pm.

If you are a child or a young person: You can call Childline at 0800 1111. They can be contacted 24 hours a day, every day.