Hackney Council: A human rights and local government case study

Hackney Council is one of the local authorities taking part in the Human Rights and Local Government project. We have endeavoured to make human rights an integral part of its social care provision. Faced with the need for huge efficiency savings human rights need to remain at the heart of everything we do. That requires keeping the service user at the centre, through consultation and excellent communication with Hackney residents and with service users. Identified Human Rights with Dignity Champions (pictured), including a cabinet member, staff and service user representation, are key to ensuring that everyone is involved in discussions about how to address spending cuts whilst maintaining a high standard of services provided with dignity and respect.

 

The hub for information sharing and consultation is the Champions Forum, led by management representatives. Staff meetings have human rights on their agenda and facilitate discussions with team members. User Champions bring the discussion to user meetings in services. Cascading in this way ensures that every service user has opportunities to improve their understanding of their human rights and enables them to express any issues they have and make sure they are addressed. Staff have a greater understanding and are able to integrate human rights into their everyday practice.

 

We have developed a Hackney Human Rights with Dignity Audit Tool for both staff and service users. Staff use it as a means for development of good practice, and service users to aid understanding and as a means of challenging poor services. The audit tool has been shared with commissioned providers, who are in the process adopting the model and appointing champions.