Health Minister - Crucial that voices of young people in the care system are heard
Date published:
Health Minister Robbie Butler has highlighted the importance of a new charter aimed at ensuring children, young people, parents and carers play a central role in decision making.
Our Pact is a shared agreement that sets out how services for children, young people and families in Northern Ireland should support and work with them, ensuring that they are respected, heard, informed and, importantly, involved in decisions about their lives.
Our Pact was developed by the Reimagine Collective, a group of leading regional charities in Northern Ireland, under the auspices of the Children’s Social Care Services Reform Programme.
Co-designed with young people and families, the charter’s purpose is to address some of the issues raised in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services led by Professor Ray Jones.
The Minister said:
“Children, young people, parents and carers involved in the social care system want to feel heard and taken seriously.
“They want to understand their choices and know who can help. They want services to be clear, respectful and consistent so they can feel safe throughout their involvement with social care.
“That’s why Our Pact is so important. It was designed to ensure children, young people and their families are at the core of everything that we do. That they are partners in a system, not simply passive recipients.
“Our Pact is a commitment to working together.”
Our Pact is being rolled out as part of the new family support model Together for Families, a major new partnership designed to transform early support for families across Northern Ireland.
Formally launched in September, it brings together The National Lottery Community Fund, the Department of Health, Health and Social Care Trusts and the voluntary and community sector to make it easier for families to access practical, coordinated support earlier and closer to home.
In the coming months, the priority will be to ensure that all staff and volunteers who work with children, young people and families understand what Our Pact is and what it means for how they work. An implementation plan is being rolled out across organisations and sectors, including all Health and Social Care Trusts.
For staff, Our Pact strengthens consistency, supports reflective practice and encourages cross-agency collaboration. Our Pact will be embedded in policies, practice guidance and organisational systems so that participation becomes a consistent part of everyday service delivery.
The development of Our Pact provides an opportunity to refresh existing practice and to ensure children, young people and families are being listened to and their views are being taken into account.
Notes to editors:
- Details on Our Pact, including guidance for staff, can be read here: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/our-pact Members of the Children’s Social Care Services Reform Programme Board are signatories to a joint statement signalling their endorsement of Our Pact. That statement can be read here: https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2026-09/OUR%20PACT%20Joint%20Statement2.pdf The reform of Children’s Social Care Services is being overseen by the Strategic Reform Programme Board. The Board provides strategic oversight, direction and governance, to deliver reform within children’s social care services, which is intended to address a range of know service challenges and difficulties.
- The Our Pact Model was created in partnership with children, young people, parents, carers, community and voluntary organisations, the Department of Health, and Health and Social Care Trust staff.
- Together for Families is supported by a £59.2 million investment, with £30 million from The National Lottery Community Fund and £29.2 million from the Northern Ireland Public Sector Transformation Fund, provided by the UK Government.
- The Reimagine Children’s Collective is a group of leading regional charities in Northern Ireland, united in a shared mission to transform children's social care.
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