Anne Longfield

Longfield's appointment to chair the statutory inquiry into grooming gangs was challenged by some MPs, commentators and victims, notably because she had taken the Labour whip upon entering the House of Lords and because several survivors' representatives had left an earlier advisory arrangement citing a lack of trust. Some critics also called for a judge to lead the inquiry.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

After her term as Children's Commissioner, Longfield chaired the Commission on Young Lives. Its reports argued that the care and protection system for certain vulnerable teenagers was inadequate and could leave them exposed to gangs, exploiters and criminal networks. The commission called for major reform of responsibilities and placements.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Longfield proposed banning permanent exclusions in English primary schools and reviewing accountability arrangements to reduce incentives to remove the most challenging pupils. She linked early exclusions to an increased risk of educational disengagement and exploitation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

In her final speech as Children's Commissioner, Longfield accused government institutions of a structural bias against children, arguing that young people's needs were too often scattered across departments and given insufficient priority, a situation aggravated by school closures and the pandemic.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Longfield repeatedly challenged major platforms' practices, denouncing reward mechanisms and social pressures she compared to 'junk food', the access of many children under 13 to services theoretically unavailable at their age and inadequate built-in safeguards.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

During the first lockdown, Longfield called on the government and teaching unions to stop 'squabbling' and quickly agree a plan for children to return to school, emphasising the educational and social consequences of closures, especially for the most vulnerable.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

During the 2020 A-level and GCSE results crisis, Longfield described the algorithmic grade moderation system as unfair to many pupils and called for a solution based on schools' assessments. The government and Ofqual subsequently abandoned the algorithm in favour of centre assessment grades where these were more favourable.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Longfield strongly challenged temporary rules allowing Secure Training Centres to severely restrict movement, activities and visits during the pandemic. She warned that they could leave children locked up for 20 to 22 hours a day and bring conditions close to a form of isolation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Longfield called for a compulsory register of home-educated children, arguing that tens of thousands could become invisible to the authorities and that some had been forced out of schools. In October 2020, she told the Education Committee that a register had been 'agreed' and referred to the Jersey system.

Attribution

Personally implicated

Towards the end of her term, Longfield delivered a particularly harsh criticism of the child protection system, stating that the State could behave like a 'bad parent' and denouncing the use of unregulated or minimally supervised accommodation for vulnerable teenagers, sometimes under conditions she considered incompatible with genuine care.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Longfield denounced 'off-rolling' and certain exclusions, arguing that a minority of schools might seek to remove difficult or expensive pupils from their rolls before examinations, risking greater exposure to criminal exploitation and educational disengagement. She proposed financial sanctions and increased accountability for schools.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Longfield warned that Universal Credit and other welfare reforms disproportionately affected single-parent families and that government rhetoric risked reverting to an 'outdated' view demonising lone parents, benefit-dependent families and working mothers.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Following an analysis of access to children's mental health services, Longfield accused the system of leaving too many young people without care. NHS England responded that her publication contained errors and omissions and that certain comparisons were misleading, triggering a detailed public exchange between the Children's Commissioner and Simon Stevens.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Longfield called for English law to be amended so that children would receive the same protection against physical violence as adults, considering the exception allowing parents to invoke reasonable physical punishment outdated.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Under Anne Longfield's longstanding leadership, 4Children expanded considerably and more than doubled its revenue. The 2014–2015 accounts subsequently showed a loss approaching 3 million pounds and substantial depletion of reserves. The organisation entered administration in 2016, approximately eighteen months after Longfield's departure.

State of the evidence

Documented

During a parliamentary hearing, Longfield indicated that discussions were taking place about possibly shifting the examination timetable to take Ramadan into account. The statement triggered media controversy over possible specific religious accommodation in the school examination calendar.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Following visits to the Calais camp, Longfield publicly criticised the French authorities for failing to adequately register, accommodate and protect unaccompanied minors, stressing that children had disappeared after clearance operations and that some were attempting dangerous crossings to the United Kingdom.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Shortly after becoming Children's Commissioner, Longfield abolished her deputy Sue Berelowitz's position, resulting in a £134,000 severance payment, then awarded her a consultancy contract for up to nine days a month at £960 per day to continue an investigation into intrafamilial sexual abuse. The Department for Education subsequently concluded that the contract was subject to government controls for which approval had not been sought, and it was cancelled.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Direct responsibility