Legislation needed to ensure vulnerable people's human rights protected

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 28th Mar 2007

As the Joint Select Committee on Human Rights publishes today a report into the 'Meaning of Public Authority under the Human Rights Act' in which they call for Parliament to bring forward legislation to make clear that human rights law protects all vulnerable people receiving public services, Dr Evan Harris MP, Liberal Democrat member of the Committee, said:

"With increasing privatisation of key public functions like care of the elderly, The Government really now must sort out once and for all the problem whereby some private businesses can evade their responsibility and duty to respect the human rights of vulnerable people because they are deemed not to be covered by the Human Rights Act.

"Where profit is the motive, there is even more need to protect the human rights of the vulnerable".

When it brought in the Human Rights Act, Parliament intended that all bodies carrying out a public function be subject to the duty to act compatibly with individual human rights. But in practice the courts have interpreted the meaning of a "public authority" under the Human Rights Act more narrowly, meaning that some vulnerable people, such as the elderly in residential homes and children in care, cannot enforce their rights directly.

"The Government is increasingly seeking to have welfare and care services provided by voluntary organisations including religious charities, which is no bad thing in itself. But it is vital that human rights laws apply to this area just as it would if the NHS or local councils provide the care, to ensure that service users are not discriminated against on religious grounds or get preached at."

Related Link:

JCHR 9th report session 2006-07 'The meaning of public authority under the human rights act'.