Weekly Human Rights News: 23-02-24

On Tuesday 20^th February, we held an in-person workshop for staff working in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region. Attendees came from a variety of settings, including local authority teams and charities.

The workshop was led by Human Rights Officer Phoebe, who has previously worked as an advisor and tribunals officer at several SENDIASS services across the country.

Attendees learned about the human rights that are particularly relevant to their work and had the opportunity to work together to draft effective template letters citing human rights law to be used in real-life advocacy. Asked what they would take away from the session, people said they would:

“Bring the language of lawful, legitimate and proportionate into the lexicon of school.”

“Use human rights when appropriate in advice to parents - something that I never felt confident to do.”

“Reference the Human Rights Act in all applicable referrals.”

Interested in a workshop focused on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities for your team or community?

On Thursday 22^nd February, we headed to Hammersmith to host a Human Rights Open Day with Just Fair. This was the fourth of four opportunities for London-based community groups to come together and learn more about human rights law and how it can be used to improve the lives of the people they support.

Attendees said:

“This open day was beautifully tailored for people in poverty to express their own concerns and struggles and then see how these fit in rights guaranteed by law.”

“Overall our whole group has now grown in confidence that human rights are a tool to change society for the better.”

We are now accepting applications for community and voluntary groups to work with us over the next four years to embed human rights into their work. Selected groups will receive tailored support and funding of £50,000 per year. You can find out more about how to apply in our Frequently Asked Questions document, which also sets out details of our two online information sessions that prospective applicants can attend.

CQC's consultation on new guidance for visitation closed on 20^th February

CQC recently closed their consultation on their new guidance for visitation in care homes, hospitals and hospices. This came following the Department for Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) decision to introduce a new fundamental standard on visiting.

BIHR responded, echoing what we and our Lived Experience Experts told the DHSC last year: that any new regulations or guidance must be compatible with our Human Rights Act (HRA). Our experience working in health and social care over 20 years tells us that compatibility with our HRA is not only required by law but leads to better outcomes for people and their families and avoids adding to an already complex maze of legislation and guidance for providers and their staff.

"Key to the implementation of human rights is ensuring law, policy and guidance is clear on the requirements of the HRA, without clarity on paper, we will not see change in practice, and we move further from a culture of respect for human rights in the UK."

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) also submitted a response to the CQC, saying, “it should be stated that a human rights based decision making process may include consideration of the appropriate balance between the service users’ right to private and family life (Article 8), right to liberty (Article 5) and right to life (Article 2), enshrined in the Human Rights Act 1998.”

Read the EHRC response