Children's Law Centre

The Children's Law Centre (CLC) in Northern Ireland received nearly 3,000 queries in 2023-24, according to its latest annual report. The charity's freephone advice line dealt with 2,980 children's rights issues, including 1,984 queries related to disability discrimination in education, 512 related t

Community Foundation Ireland has marked Mandela Day with the announcement of new projects with the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) and Northern Ireland's Children's Law Centre. 18 July celebrates the birthday of Nelson Mandela, which the all-island charity is using the opportunity to confirm its ren

The Children's Law Centre (CLC) has been granted leave for a judicial review over Northern Ireland's budget-setting process. The law centre, supported by The PILS Project, was granted leave in the High Court this morning to bring the legal challenge against the Northern Ireland Office, Department of

The Children's Law Centre (CLC) has launched a new series of courses on children's rights aimed at legal practitioners in Northern Ireland as well as young people, carers and non-legal professionals. The three initial training courses — with a 15 per cent discount for booking all three —

The Northern Ireland Office faces legal action over the disproportionate impact of budget cuts on disadvantaged children, including disabled children, the Children's Law Centre has warned. In a letter to Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, the law centre accused him of failing in his res

The Children's Law Centre (CLC) has called for urgent action after an independent review of special educational needs (SEN) services in Northern Ireland found that early intervention for children is almost impossible under the current system and processes. The Ipsos review, published yesterday, was

Over 100 organisations and individuals, led by the Children's Law Centre, have urged the Northern Ireland secretary to reverse cuts which will "cause serious harm" to children and young people. The letter, sent on behalf of 78 organisations and 23 individuals, states that budgetary decisions made by

A review of PSNI strip-searches of children and young people in custody will be carried out after concerns were raised by the Children's Law Centre (CLC). The Northern Ireland Policing Board said its human rights adviser will "review the compliance with human rights in how the PSNI addresses childre

Northern Ireland's high street voucher scheme was introduced without regard for equality law obligations, the Equality Commission has found. The watchdog investigated following two individual complaints that the Department for the Economy had failed to comply with its own Equality Scheme commitments

Northern Ireland's restrictions on school transport during the pandemic breached the human rights of disabled children, the High Court has ruled. The Children's Law Centre (CLC) brought judicial review proceedings on behalf of two disabled children after a referral for specialist legal services by t

The Children's Law Centre brought an "unprecedented" 27 judicial review cases in the past year, the highest ever. At its AGM yesterday, the law centre launched its annual report for 2021–22, highlighting a growing workload with legal cases growing in both number and complexity.

The new Northern Ireland Assembly should incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into domestic law as a matter of urgency, the Children's Law Centre (CLC) has said. The law centre, founded 25 years ago on the principles enshrined in the UNCRC, said the rights of children in

Disabled children and adults in Northern Ireland are being discriminated against because of the lack of adequate service provision to meet their needs, the Children's Law Centre (CLC) has warned. In a joint statement with the National Autistic Society NI, the two charities said they have witnessed a

Proposed new UK immigration laws will "undo progress" on tackling child trafficking in Northern Ireland, the Children's Law Centre (CLC) has said. The Belfast-based law centre said the Nationality and Borders Bill, which is being considered by a Westminster committee from today, will harm children,

A number of young people, assisted by the Children's Law Centre (CLC), have formally complained to the Department for the Economy over the exclusion of under-18s from the high street voucher scheme. The voucher scheme will see around 1.4 million people in Northern Ireland receive a pre-paid £1