Interview: Defender of rights - Keith Towler, Children's Commissioner for Wales

Clarke's successor Keith Towler, who takes up the role in March, agrees he has been left an impressive legacy, but there is no question of resting on any laurels. "There are about 170,000 children in Wales living in poverty," he says. "This highlights how poorly we're doing."

Towler, who is programme director for Save the Children in Wales, has the ideal background to be Wales's second children's commissioner. Before joining Save the Children, he worked in youth justice and community safety, and he heads up the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child monitoring group for Wales.

"I spent a lot of time working in the criminal justice system before I came to Save the Children, and all the young people I met, whether they were going through the court processes, in prevention work, in the youth justice system or even in custody, the thing that always struck me was that their basic entitlements weren't being delivered," Towler says. "Why does a lot of work go on in prisons looking at the ability of children to read and get basic skills? What's going on that stops that from happening?"

He continues: "I have a sense of injustice about what happens to some children and young people that gets them into the criminal justice system, without basic entitlements such as education and health."

Towler cites as his focus a desire to turn policy and strategies into practice. "In Wales we have an assembly government that's set strong policy frameworks and commitments. But there's a critical question - we've got all these frameworks but what is stopping us from delivering on quality of life for children and providing that practice agenda?"

Despite this concern, Towler considers himself more fortunate than his English counterpart, Al Aynsley-Green, since he sees the Welsh Assembly Government as more committed to children's rights. "We have an assembly government that understands a child rights approach and that's fantastic," he says.

"Westminster seems to be working against the grain of children's rights. If you think about youth crime prevention, asylum seeking children, issues of child poverty - things that aren't part of devolution - it's almost working against the grain of what we're trying to achieve in Wales. It must be frustrating for English colleagues because the stance of Westminster is so out of step with the spirit of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child."

Towler warns this does not mean he will become complacent. "If you look at whether young people feel their rights are being delivered, they will say we can't get to a leisure centre or we can't go swimming or we haven't got the right education," he says. "Life experiences for children haven't changed much and they need to change a lot more."

A priority for Towler once he takes up his post in March will be to meet as many young people as possible, to help gain an understanding of what matters to them. He also wants to raise the public profile of the commissioner, which he admits is largely unknown outside specific groups of young people. But he feels he has a strong base to build from and pays tribute to Clarke for that.

"There was no children's commissioner office seven years ago when Peter started, he didn't have the kind of structures in place that we have now," Towler says. "These structures are down to his work and efforts, such as Funky Dragon, the youth assembly for Wales. That wouldn't have happened without Peter.

"We now have a framework in place to get children and young people engaged in processes. He had that vision, and he took that through."

BACKGROUND - KEITH TOWLER

- Towler is currently programme director for Save the Children in Wales. He was appointed in May 2006.

- He was previously director of crime reduction charity Nacro and worked in youth justice, community safety and criminal justice for more than 20 years before joining Save the Children.

- The role of the children's commissioner is to act as an independent advocate for children and young people in Wales, championing their cause, and promoting their rights and welfare.

- www.childcom.org.uk.