The government also tried to foist a director with slightly wider powers on the Welsh Assembly but to its credit, it is having none of it. Instead, the assembly is pushing for a commissioner with a role closer to that defined by its health and social services committee earlier this year. A commissioner would also have the power to inquire into breaches of children's rights and demand action. Rayner is director of the newly created Office of the Children's Rights Commissioner for London. Livingstone has yet to fill the post.
Any major city can.
What they're actually about is social rights - the right to a decent quality of life. And the right for a child's views to be treated seriously when important decisions are made about the society in which we all live. They don't cancel out adult responsibility but they do encourage fair play and cooperation. London has 1.74m young people under 18. Twice the national proportion live in workless households.