§ Baroness Bloodasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure has a child protection policy; and what steps it takes to monitor safeguarding and child protection arrangements in next steps agencies and non-departmental public bodies. (HL1586]
§ Baroness AmosThe Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) does not have a child protection policy because it does not have staff working in positions that involve significant and supervised contact with, or supervision over, children. One of DCAL's agencies, Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland, does not have a child protection policy for the same reason. However, DCAL's other agency, the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), is in the process of developing a child protection policy as some PRONI staff occasionally come into contact with schoolchildren in the course of their duty. The department plans to monitor safeguarding and child protection arrangements in its non-departmental public bodies via accountability meetings.