CARE LOOPHOLE

The law lords’ decision in YL v Birmingham City Council that the Human Rights Act 1998 does not apply to people in private care homes whose places are funded by local councils, exposes a loophole in the law which needs to be closed by statute, says Eric Metcalfe, director of human rights policy at JUSTICE. “Parliament intended the Human Rights Act to protect the most vulnerable in our society. The courts have failed to honour that intention and now it falls to Parliament to correct that mistake. Local authorities should not be able to duck out of their duty to care home patients simply by using private providers,” he says. Solicitor Andrew Dismore wants the government to back his private members Bill, the Human Rights (Meaning of Public Authority) Bill, to correct the position—or to urgently bring in its own legislation.