Consultation Response

 

Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee

National Assembly for Wales

Inquiry into Human Rights in Wales

 

February 2017

 

Age Cymru is the leading national charity working to improve the lives of all older people in Wales. We believe older people should be able to lead healthy and fulfilled lives, have adequate income, access to high quality services and the opportunity to shape their own future. We seek to provide a strong voice for all older people in Wales and to raise awareness of the issues of importance to them.

 

We are pleased to respond to the Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee’s Inquiry into Human Rights in Wales.

 

The impact of the UK’s withdrawal from European Union on human rights protection in Wales.

 

1.    Our age discrimination laws stem from EU treaty provisions and directives, but these have been incorporated into domestic legislation, notably through the Equality Act, so no further domestic legislation would be needed in the absence of EU legislation. The UK’s existing Disability Discrimination Act was also replaced and strengthened by the Equality Act.

 

2.    However, if EU legislation were to be removed or disapplied there would be nothing to prevent a future UK Government repealing these laws – something we would not wish to see.  Additionally, we would want to ensure that the many UK nationals living and/or working in the EU would continue to have protection from other member states’ discrimination against them.

 

 

The impact of the UK Government’s proposal to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 and replace it with a UK Bill of Rights.

 

3.    A major area of focus for Age Cymru will be to ensure that older people’s position is strengthened, not weakened, by any possible changes to equalities and human rights legislation.

 

4.    The UK’s withdrawal from the EU will not automatically affect the UK’s status as a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR is an international treaty distinct from the EU Treaties and EU Charter on Fundamental Rights. 

 

5.    British citizens are still able to rely on their rights in the ECHR in domestic courts and can still take cases to the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, they are protected by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, they would be affected if they could no longer rely on the European Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR) which in particular includes many wider social and economic rights, such as the rights to fair and just working conditions, to healthcare and to have personal data protected.

 

Strengthening the rights of older people

 

6.    Age Cymru’s position is that any future human rights legislation must protect the rights and freedoms in the European Convention on Human Rights, must not undermine the effectiveness or scope of the HRA or the potential for enforcing it and must reflect the particular circumstances of Wales. We intend to engage fully in the consultation process to ensure that older people’s rights are fully protected, and strengthened where necessary.

 

7.    The lack of human rights protection for people who self-fund their care services is an issue of concern. All older people in care must have equal protection from abuse and poor treatment, regardless of how this care is organised or paid for.

 

The international dimension