The Welsh Assembly Government has published its response to the Children and Young People's Committee’s Report on advocacy services for children and young people in Wales.

The Committee’s report was published in March 2008 and made 12 recommendations.

Recommendation 1 was that the Welsh Assembly Government should establish a centrally funded advocacy unit, with responsibility for commissioning advocacy services in local areas. The Assembly Government has not accepted this recommendation. Instead, in a statement made in March 2008, the Minister for Children announced the creation of a new National Independent Advocacy Board which will take an independent, strategic overview of the development and delivery of advocacy services in Wales, and the establishment of an Advocacy Development and Performance Unit within the Welsh Assembly Government. However, the Unit will not be commissionioning local/regionally-based services.

The response can be downloaded from the National Assembly for Wales website.