Replies of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the list of issues in relation to its 7th periodic report : Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Table of Contents

• Replies of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the list of issues in relation to its seventh periodic report*, ** 1
• Introduction 2
• A. General Information 2
• 1. July 2024 General Election 2
• 2. Justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights 3
• R (SC & Others) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 3
• The Bill of Rights 3
• Scotland 3
• Northern Ireland Human Rights Bill 3
• 3. Covenant provisions and environmental standards under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022, and measures taken to assess and address the impact of the loss of funding from the European ... 3
• 4. Measures regarding official development assistance (ODA) 4
• 5. Measures taken to collect data relevant to assessing the extent to which Covenant rights are realised in the UK 4
• 6. 2016 National Action Plan on implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights 5
• Other jurisdictions 5
• 7. Mitigating and adapting to climate change 5
• Mitigation of climate change 5
• Climate change adaptation 6
• B. Issues relating to the general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1-5) 6
• Maximum available resources (art. 2 (1)) 6
• 8. Information on the evolution of the following 6
• The proportion of the population living below the nationally defined poverty line 6
• Tax 6
• Public expenditure as a percentage of GDP 7
• Military expenses as a percentage of GDP and of the public budget 7
• Fiscal policies adopted in response to the coronavirus pandemic 7
• £20 Uplift 7
• Local Housing Allowance (LHA) 7
• COVID Winter Grant Scheme (CWGS) and COVID Local Support Grant (CLSG) 7
• Debt Recovery 7
• Tax avoidance and illicit financial flows 8
• Funding of overseas development programmes over the past ten years and the conditionality or requirements for the receiving countries 8
• Non-discrimination (art. 2 (2)) 8
• 9. Measures taken to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination law 8
• Other jurisdictions 8
• Guernsey 9
• Jersey 9
• 10. Refugees and asylum seekers 9
• Nationality and Borders Act 2022 9
• Economic, social and cultural rights 9
• Access to fair and efficient asylum procedures, protection against refoulment and access to independent appeal mechanisms 10
• Refoulement 10
• Statutory Framework for Claims 10
• Appeal 10
• Legal Aid 10
• Statistical information 10
• Equal rights of men and women (art. 3) 10
• 11. Information covering 10
• Results and impact of initiatives mentioned in paragraphs 46-51 of State party’s report on equality between women and men 10
• Statistical data on the representation of women 10
• Measures taken to address and monitor occupational segregation 11
• Statistical data on the evolution of the gender pay gap 11
• Issues relating to the specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6–15) 11
• Right to work (art. 6) 11
• 12. Information covering 11
• COVID-19 pandemic 11
• Plan for Jobs 12
• Refugees and asylum seekers 12
• 13. Information covering 12
• Youth employment 12
• Labour market insertion and retention of disabled people 13
• Ethnic minorities 13
• Middle-income employment opportunities 14
• 14. Information covering 14
• Practices regarding recruitment, retention, promotions, salaries and other conditions of employment 14
• Right to just and favourable conditions of work (art. 7) 15
• 15. National minimum wage 15
• 16. Temporary employment, precarious self-employment and “zero-hour contracts” 15
• 17. Disability workforce Reporting Consultation and Voluntary Ethnicity Pay Reporting Guidelines 16
• 18. Physical and mental harassment, including sexual harassment, and its means of enforcement 16
• 19. Modern Slavery Act 2015 17
• 20. Enforcement of employment rights 17
• Trade union rights (art. 8) 18
• 21. Trade Union Act 2016, Employment Relations Act 1999 and Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill 18
• Trade unions rights (Report issue 21. Trade Union Act 2016, Employment Relations Act 1999 and Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill) 18
• Electronic balloting for industrial action 18
• 22. Welfare Reform Act 2012 and the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 18
• Uprating of State Pensions and Benefits 19
• Benefit cap 19
• Two child policy 19
• Removal of the limited capability for work element 19
• Social sector support: Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy 19
• 23. Universal Credit scheme 20
• Taper Rate 20
• 24. Indexation between State benefit rates and the cost of living 20
• The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) methodology 20
• Benefit cap 21
• Adequacy of UC amount 21
• Cost of Living Payments 21
• Sanction disputes 21
• 25. Non-nationals’ access to social security services 21
• Protection of the family and children (art. 10) 22
• 26. Childcare services, Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and paid maternity leave 22
• Other jurisdictions 22
• 27. Regulation and monitoring of private and for-profit providers of child protection services: 23
• “Unregulated” placements 23
• Regulating children’s homes 23
• 28. Social care services 24
• Other jurisdictions 24
• Scotland 24
• Northern Ireland 24
• Right to an adequate standard of living (art. 11) 25
• 29. Poverty rates 25
• Other jurisdictions 25
• Scotland 25
• Guernsey 25
• 30. Information covering 25
• Impact and concrete results of the Affordable Housing Program, the Shared Ownership scheme, the Care & Support Specialised Housing Fund, and Housing 2040 25
• Scotland 25
• Northern Ireland 26
• Disabled Facilities Grant 26
• Overcrowded housing 26
• Scotland 26
• Wales 26
• Social housing requests 27
• Waiting lists – Local Authority Housing Statistics (LAHS) 27
• Scotland 27
• Northern Ireland 27
• Homelessness, temporary accommodation standards and rough sleeping 27
• Headline Statistics, Autumn 2022 28
• Temporary accommodation standards 28
• Ending Rough Sleeping Data Framework 28
• Provision and standards of Home Office (HO) accommodation for asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their claim 28
• 31. Inequalities in housing in Northern Belfast 29
• Social Housing Development Programme (SHDP) 29
• SHDP Expansion 29
• 32. The Traveller site Fund, the Affordable Housing Program, the Housing 2040, the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 and the Irish Traveller’s Accommodation Strategy (2021–2026) 29
• 33. A comprehensive national strategy to promote and protect the right to adequate food 30
• Other jurisdictions 31
• Scotland 31
• Northern Ireland 31
• Right to physical and mental health (art. 12) 31
• 34. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on NHS 31
• Other jurisdictions 32
• Scotland 32
• Wales 32
• NI 32
• 35. The Mental Health Act 1983 and mental health strategies 32
• Other jurisdictions 32
• Scotland 32
• Wales 33
• NI 33
• 36. Sexual and reproductive health 33
• Other jurisdictions 33
• Scotland 33
• NI 34
• 37. Drug use 34
• Legislation on Personal Drug Use 34
• Measures to Tackle Drug-Related Infectious Diseases 35
• Right to education (arts. 13–14) 35
• 38. Educational attainment and children’s access to education 35
• England 35
• Response to COVID-19 35
• Remote Learning 36
• Qualifications 36
• Attendance 36
• Attainment and support for disadvantaged children 36
• Scotland 37
• NI 37
• Isle of Man 37
• Guernsey 37
• 39. The Shared Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 and the Integrated Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 37
• Cultural rights (art. 15) 38
• 40. The Irish Language and Ulster Scots Strategies 38
• 41. Access to sports, sports facilities and competitions by persons with disabilities and transgender persons 38
• 42. Access to the internet and digital literacy training, as well as measures to safeguard the right to privacy and cultural identities 39
• Media literacy 39
• Digital Skills 39