Who has duties under the Human Rights Act?
Section 6 of our Human Rights Act 1998 puts a legal duty on all “public authorities”, and their employees. There are two different types of “public authority” that must respect our human rights:
‘Core’ public authorities: these are bodies typically seen as public, for example, local authorities, emergency services, NHS, regulators, public education providers, and Government Departments, as well as courts and tribunals.
‘Hybrid’ public authorities: these are other bodies (for example private companies and charities) who must only follow the Human Rights Act when they are doing things which are “of a public nature”. This means that they are doing something which would typically be done by a core public body, such as a private company running a prison. The Care Act increased the number of organisations that could be classed as ‘hybrid’ public authorities by including any registered care providers that receive public funding to provide a public function. This applies to situations where, for example, a private care home is receiving funding from the local authority to provide care for an individual.
The duties under the Human Rights Act can be shared. This means that a variety of public authorities may have overlapping duties for an individual.