Human rights are still not fully understood and mainstreamed across the public sector in Scotland
What has been identified is an absence of action plans to implement human rights in Scotland which makes the process of monitoring, evaluation and accountability very difficult. At this stage there are only a few robust examples of public bodies explicitly mainstreaming knowledge and application of human rights law across policies, services and the decision-making process. Despite the depressing picture, we did gain new information, have captured signs of good practice and progressive developments and again confirmed the need for the public sector to access assistance and expertise to enable them to comply with Section 6 of the HRA. For example help from the EHRC and SHRC to deliver their human rights obligations e.g. toolkits and basic information on which human rights are relevant to whom.
The following recommendations should be read in conjunction with those from 2006. The four NGOs recommend them as necessary to integrate human rights into the design, delivery and monitoring of public services in Scotland.
. Public bodies should undertake regular reviews of compliance with the HRA as part of their commitment to deliver effective public services.
2. To minimise risk to public funds, the Audit Scotland ‘Code of Audit Practice’ should explicitly state the importance of human rights in the framework for the conduct of public audit in Scotland. This requirement will assist in meeting the objective that “Public resources should be safeguarded, properly accounted for and used economically, efficiently and effectively.”
3. The EHRC Scotland should specifically address existing misunderstandings that equality duties are the same as human rights obligations. The distinctive human rights laws that relate to the public sector in Scotland, across both devolved and reserved matters, need to be better understood and compliance assured. The dual remit of the EHRC is perhaps one reason for the confusion.
4. The EHRC Scotland should adapt the recommendations of its ‘Human Rights Inquiry Report’ of 2009 to give them effect in Scotland.
5. The SHRC has published an academic study on the human rights impact assessment processes and will ultimately work towards guidance in this area. The SHRC should consider publishing this guidance as a matter of urgency to better equip the public sector to meet human rights duties. One Council has stated that it is waiting on this tool “and it is our intention to utilise this tool to widen our current impact assessment activity...”
6. The SHRC should continue to exercise leadership by producing a range of information to help the public sector in Scotland meet its statutory obligations. The SHRC should also provide information to the public directly e.g. publications on ‘human rights and local authority services’.
7. The EHRC and the SHRC need to inform the voluntary sector about human rights obligations e.g. in delivering contracts for the public sector.
8. Local authorities, in their drive to share services across local authority areas, should identify a central point for a national resource which disseminates information, promotes best practice and drafts guidance on human rights compliance and delivery.
9. NGOs and the public have a role to play in monitoring human rights delivery in Scotland. NGOs and the public can apply pressure to ensure application of human rights in their geographical area or their subject area of interest. The GB EHRC and the SHRC both have a role in informing this work.