Care home not "public authority" for human rights
21 Jun 07
Law Lords reject claim based on right to private and family life
Civil rights campaigners have called for amendment to legislation to ensure that private care homes are covered by the Human Rights Act, following a decision by the House of Lords.
Five Law Lords rejected a claim from lawyers acting on behalf of an 84-year-old Alzheimer's patient currently resident in a private care home. They had argued that the woman's threatened eviction from a private home would be in violation of her right to private and family life under article 8 of the European Convention. However, by a 3-2 majority the Lords ruled that the home was not exercising a public function, although the woman had been referred to it by a local authority.
Andrew Dismore MP, chair of the Joint Select Committee on Human Rights, said the House of Lords had made a decision that was contrary to what Parliament had intended when the Human Rights Act was passed. He urged the government to back his private member's bill to correct this position.
Help the Aged said the ruling had been a disappointment, as the majority of vulnerable, older people received their care from the private or voluntary sector. However a spokesperson for Scottish Care said there was adequate protection for older people in the independent care homes it represented because of the work of the Care Commission.
The Lords' opinions can be read at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200607/ldjudgmt/jd070620/birm-1.htm .