SHRC statement: Retaining the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Scots law
23 March 2018
Equality bodies in Scotland have issued a March 2018 statement welcoming the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill.Â
Equality bodies in Scotland have issued a March 2018 statement welcoming the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill.Â
‘The legal aid means test is preventing families in poverty from accessing justice’ says a March 2018 report (PDF) from the University of Loughborough and Law Society.Â
This report considers whether people required by the civil legal aid system to contribute to legal costs, based on their income and assets, can always afford to do so.
The report finds:
At the maximum level of disposable income at which legal aid is allowed, households have too little income to reach a minimum standard of living even before footing any legal bills. Typically, they have disposable incomes 10% to 30% too low to afford a minimum budget
Individuals with gross income above the £2,657 a month limit could generally afford to contribute a substantial amount to legal costs. However, some people with this level of gross income who are supporting families have incomes below the minimum, mainly because gross income includes tax credits and benefits, which contribute to meeting the cost of additional family members
Those with above £316 a month in adjusted disposable income may receive legal aid but must contribute to their costs. This excludes almost all households where anyone works, and is roughly equivalent to the level of means-tested benefits, whose recipients receive full legal aid regardless of income.
Read the full report (PDF).Â
The profiles of homeless people are changing, with children becoming the largest group of people in emergency shelters as a result of a deterioration in the living conditions of extremely vulnerable families.
This from the March 2018 annual report (PDF) from the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA)
This report reveals how millions of Europeans face housing exclusion on a daily basis as well as a dramatic picture of increasing homelessness across most of the EU – in particular amongst children, women and migrants.
The report finds:
In France, 20,845 people called the 115 homeless helpline requesting accommodation (in June 2017)
Dublin City Council spent € 39 million on hotel nights for homeless people in 2016, while € 10.7 million was spent on prevention and supported housing
In Britain, 29% of spending was on temporary accommodation and (44% of which was spent on hotels/Bed and Breakfast) and 61% on housing services (between 2015-2016)
Over the last number of years, only two European countries (Finland and Norway) have seen a reduction in the number of homeless people
Read the full report (PDF).
As part of the School Census, schools are now required by the Department for Education to collect the nationality and country of birth of children aged 5 – 19.
This is from the March 2018 guidance from the Migrant Rights Network which aims to help migrants understand their rights and how to assert them in 8 key areas of everyday life.
This guide is to help all migrants living in the UK understand their rights in a situation where immigration rules are changing regularly.
The guidance finds:
Since 30 October 2017, banks and building societies have had to do immigration checks on all customers every 3 months. If they discover that you might be in the UK without permission they must tell the Home Office
Since 2014, the Driving and Vehicle Licence Agency (DVLA) is not allowed to give you a driving licence if you are not ‘lawfully resident’ in the UK. The DVLA does not have to let you know if they cancel your licence. This means you may not find out you are driving illegally until you are stopped by the police
Some schools have been asking to see children’s passports. This is against government guidance. Other schools have only asked for the nationality and country of birth of non-white children. This is discriminatory and therefore illegal.
Read the full guidance (pdf).
‘Every non-trans person can be an ally for trans equality, but not
everyone feels confident doing this. It’s not complicated’.
This is from the March 2018 guidance (PDF) from UNISON on supporting trans people in the workplace.
The guidance recommends:
Speak up when there are no trans people present. Transphobia is always wrong and shouldn’t be ignored
Misgendering someone or using their previous name (sometimes called ‘deadnaming’) is hurtful and may be unlawful harassment
Try not to make assumptions. Although there aren’t many trans people (which is why allies are so important) they are all individual. There is no one way of being trans.
Read the guidance (pdf).
The Department for Education has launched a March 2018 review of support for children in need.
‘The UK is one of the most unequal countries in the developed world’ says the March 2018 Equality Trust manifesto.
‘Banks have to check applicants’ immigration status before allowing them to open a bank account’.
This is according to the February 2018 briefing (pdf) from Global Justice Now on the hostile environment for immigrants.Â
The briefing finds:Â
The government is preventing people from accessing safe and secure housing by forcing landlords to carry out the work of immigration officers.
NHS staff are also being forced to demand upfront payment for treatment from people who cannot prove their immigration status
People in the UK without at least six months leave to remain cannot apply for a driving licence
Read the full report (pdf).Â
‘Millions of working women face financial insecurity’, says the March 2018 research from the Living Wage Foundation and Fawcett Society.
A poll of women earning below the real Living Wage revealed that:
A third (33% or 1.12 million women) have no savings at all, including pensions
39% have more than £500 of debt, while 31% have more than £1,000 of debt
94% worry about their financial situation.
Access the full research.
It is deeply concerning that more than half of all employees who win a case at an employment tribunal do not receive the compensation they are due.
This is according to the UK Parliament All Select Committee publication on the future of working practices in Scotland.
In the last Parliament, the predecessor Committee launched an inquiry into sustainable employment in Scotland. They were unable to complete its work before the snap 2017 General Election, and this report seeks to build on that work, and examines the particular needs of Scotland.
The report recommends:
The Government should commission a study to assess the extent of unfair employment practices in Scotland—to establish how many workers suffer from unfair or illegal employment practices, and whether there are particular issues in certain sectors.Â
Where the UK Government is planning to change spending in a way which will affect devolved funding, the Government should engage with the devolved administrations at the earliest possible opportunity on implications for devolved policy
That the Government put in place new mechanisms—which could include the establishment of additional enforcement agencies—to proactively identify and combat all unfair employment practices.
Read the full report.