abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

13 Nov 2019

Author:
The Scottish Human Rights Commission

UK: Scottish Human Rights Commission expresses concerns about implications of Serco judgment in age of privatised public services

“Commission expresses serious concerns about human rights implications of Serco judgment”, 13 November 2019

The Scottish Human Rights Commission intervened in Ali v Serco and the Secretary of State for the Home Department setting out its analysis and concerns about the human rights issues raised.

Commenting on today’s judgment by the Inner House of the Court of Session, Judith Robertson, Chair of the Commission said:

“We have serious concerns about the implications of this ruling, both for the people directly affected and for the protection of human rights more broadly.

“The court’s finding that Serco is not acting as a public authority in this context, and therefore is not bound by human rights legal obligations, has profound consequences for how people’s rights are protected when public services are delivered by private providers.

“This is an area of law that, in our view, requires further clarification. Governments should not be able to divest themselves of their human rights obligations by outsourcing the provision of public services. There is potential for further legal proceedings on this point and the Commission will consider the most appropriate next course of action.

“We welcome the court’s recognition of the need for sufficient procedural safeguards in situations where people are facing eviction from their homes. This is essential to protecting people’s right to a private, home and family life, and to protecting them from inhuman and degrading treatment.

“However, we remain concerned that people affected by this lock-change policy, who are already in a precarious and vulnerable situation, face an unnecessarily heavy burden when it comes to accessing their human rights.

“The Commission will now reflect further on the detail of the judgment and consider how best to address the ongoing human rights issues involved in this and related cases.”

Timeline

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.