MPs say social care providers must be bound by Human Rights Act

All providers of publicly arranged or paid-for social care services must be bound by the Human Rights Act, a group of MPs suggest.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights says that the Human Rights Act currently does not protect hundreds of thousands of people who are receiving care in their own homes or in residential homes.

The watchdog argues that the Care Bill, which is currently passing through parliament, could provide an opportunity to fill the gaps in human rights protection for vulnerable people.

The group of MPs also warn that the bill has missed an opportunity to legislate for a free standing statutory right to independent living.

The chair of the committee, Dr Hywel Francis MP, suggests that the government should use the report stage of the bill in the Commons “to introduce an amendment to provide for such a free-standing, enforceable right”.

The committee also recommends that the government brings forward an amendment in either the Care Bill or the Children and Families Bill to give parent carers of disabled children equivalent rights to a needs assessment for support.