In this week’s news we share our evidence submissions on human rights in asylum accommodation to the Home Office, as well as the Mental Health Bill to the Joint Committee on Human Rights. We also share the publication of the European Court of Human Rights 2024 Annual Report.

The Home Affairs Committee in the UK parliament is responsible for looking at the work of the Home Office and associated bodies. They asked for views on accommodation for people seeking asylum in the UK and how this is being delivered. 

We responded to the inquiry drawing on our experience of supporting community groups working in the asylum sector. Our response included real-life stories that reflect the experience of people living in asylum accommodation and the human rights issues that they may face. 

We called on the Home Affairs Committee to highlight the need for increased understanding and awareness of the human rights of people in asylum accommodation and the Human Rights Act legal duties of those providing it – whether State services or private providers. 

The Joint Committee on Human Rights in the UK parliament is responsible for looking at proposed laws to see how they could impact on people’s human rights. They asked for views on the way the Mental Health Bill introduced to Parliament in November 2024 could impact on people’s human rights. 

We responded to the consultation drawing on our experience of working in the health, care and social work sectors – supporting both staff and community groups to make human rights real. 

We consulted with Lived Experience Experts from our RITES Committee when writing our response. We also told the Committee that it was important that they made additional time to consult with Lived Experience Experts to understand how the Bill might work in practice and what that could mean for people’s human rights. 

The European Court of Human Rights Publishes its 2024 Annual Report 

The European Court of Human Rights has published it’s 2024 annual report. The report includes insights into the cases that the court has heard over the year, providing statistics and a state-by-state breakdown. They have also released a case summary of violations of the European Convention by Article and by State.  

The report reveals that the ECtHR heard 1102 cases in 2024, and of those cases, only 3 of them involved the UK. This means that the UK made up only 0.3% of cases that came before the ECtHR. Out of these 3 cases, 1 case found a violation of the Right to Freedom of Expression (Article 10) related to a newspaper publishing company, 1 case found no violation, and the third case settled out of court.