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Call for Evidence

Protecting human rights in care settings

Terms of reference: Protecting human rights in care settings

Call for Evidence

The Committee is interested to hear the responses to the following questions:

  • What human rights issues need to be addressed in care settings in England, beyond the immediate concerns arising from the Covid-19 pandemic?
  • How effective are providers at respecting the human rights of people under their care?
  • How effective are regulators in protecting residents from human rights breaches and in supporting patients and residents who make complaints about their care provider?
  • What lessons need to be learned from the pandemic to prevent breaches of human rights legislation in future?

In addition to calling for written evidence from people wishing to respond to the questions set out in the terms of reference, the Committee has also set up an online web survey to hear a wider range of views.

Link to the online web survey can be found here.

Important information about making a submission

Written evidence must address the terms of reference as set out above, but please note that submissions do not have to address every point. Guidance on giving evidence to a select committee of the House of Commons is available here.

In line with the general practice of select committees the Joint Committee on Human Rights is not able to take up individual cases. If you would like political support or advice you may wish to contact your local Member of Parliament.

The Committee will decide whether to accept a submission and whether to publish it on its website.  All written evidence will be considered by the Committee, whether or not it is published. If your submission is accepted by the Committee, it will usually be published online and will be available permanently for anyone to view. It can’t be changed or removed. If you have included your name or any personal information in your submission, that will normally be published too. Please consider carefully how much personal information you need to share. If you include personal information about other people in your submission, the Committee may decide not to publish it. Your contact details will never be published.

If you would like to ask the Committee to accept your submission anonymously (meaning it will be published but without your name), or confidentially (meaning it won't be published at all), please say at the start of your evidence which of these you request, and tell us why. This lets the Committee know what you would like but the final decision will be taken by the Committee.

If your evidence raises any safeguarding concerns about you or other people, then the Committee has a duty to raise these with the appropriate safeguarding authority.

If you have immediate safeguarding concerns about yourself or someone else or specific allegations of illegal practices, you should contact the Police on 999.

We can’t publish submissions that mention ongoing legal cases – contact us if you are not sure what this means for you.

Submissions should be received by 2nd November 2021.

Click on the start button at the bottom of this page to submit written evidence.

We understand that the issues raised in this work may be sensitive or upsetting and the following organisations may be able to offer support or further information:  

Samaritans - for everyone  Call 116 123 - 24 hours a day, every day  Email jo@samaritans.org

The Silver Line - helpline for older people; a free confidential helpline providing "information, friendship and advice" to people aged 55 and over, and support for "older people who are suffering abuse and neglect"; open 24 hours a day every day.  Call 0800 4 70 80 90

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) - Information for people who have a learning disability or want Easy Read information. “We want to encourage people with learning disabilities to complain when they experience poor service from the NHS or a government organisation”.

Age UK – For advice on making a complaint against a care home. Age UK list other organisations who can give specialist advice.

Citizens Advice – For advice on making a complaint about adult social care services.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman – For advice on making a complaint against an organisation and when the LGO can take up a complaint. “We look at all adult social care complaints. This includes care that is funded privately without council involvement”.

 

This call for written evidence has now closed.

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