§ Lord Brougham and Vauxasked Her Majesty's Government:
What progress has been made towards the United Kingdom's ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (The Earl of Caithness):We are making good progress. The Whitehall review of the convention has now taken place and we have identified the few areas where we envisage the need to enter reservations upon ratification in respect of the UK mainland. They are immigration and nationality, juvenile custody, employment, termination of pregnancy and children's hearings in Scotland. We are consulting with the Dependent Territories and UK Islands about their inclusion and will ratify the convention as soon as possible.