British Institute of Human Rights submits evidence to Joint Committee on Human Rights COVID-19 inquiry

Date: 6th August 2020
Category: Disability, Basic Health and Welfare, Civil Rights and Freedoms

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A summary of evidence submitted by the British Institute of Human Rights to the UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry into government responses to COVID-19 has been published.

The evidence was collected from people accessing (or trying to access) health and care, staff working in health and care during COVID-19, and advocates and campaigners. Separate evidence submissions have been submitted for all three groups.

Some key findings from the summary report include:

• Over 68% of people accessing or trying to access health and care felt their care and support got worse during COVID-19 restrictions
• Over 60% of people accessing or trying to access health and care were not told under what legal basis the change to their care and support was made during COVID-19 restrictions
• Over 82% of staff working in health and care said it had been harder to uphold human rights during COVID-19 restrictions
• Over 65% of advocates and campaigners said that it has been more necessary to use human rights to challenge poor practice during COVID-19 restrictions

The reports will be published in full shortly.

The British Institute for Human Rights is still collecting evidence for the inquiry and for its own reports on human rights during COVID-19. To have your voice heard, surveys are still open and available via the link below.

• Read the summary of evidence here.
• Complete the survey on human rights during COVID-19 here.
• Read about the UK Parliament Human Rights Joint Committee on Human Rights’ inquiry on the Government’s response to COVID-19 here.