3.1 DCA aims to promote a culture where people are aware of their rights and responsibilities and are able to exercise them freely. This culture means:
3.2 To achieve these aims we are taking forward a programme of work that includes:
3.3 DCA is responsible for promoting a culture of respect for human rights in the UK. We aim to do this by helping to promote good practice and compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998 within and outside Government. We seek also to maintain and develop the UK's position under the various international human rights treaties, and to meet the UK's periodic reporting requirements to various international treaty monitoring bodies including the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
3.4 We have continued our programme of free awareness raising road shows in England and Wales. We have delivered seven road shows in Manchester, Brighton, Exeter, Gateshead, Canterbury, Daventry and Sheffield. Dates have been confirmed for Leeds and Oxford, and more are planned for 2004/05. Some 500 key local authority staff were engaged in constructive application of the Convention Rights to their particular situations. Highly favourable feedback was received.
3.5 To assist members of the public we maintain a dedicated human rights helpdesk (www.humanrights.gov.uk), which currently receives an average of 15 calls per day, as well as 100 written enquiries and requests for publications per week. In addition, we have recently overhauled our website which currently attracts an average of 1,500 visits per week.
3.6 Our publications include a detailed Study Guide to the Human Rights Act 1998 (250,00 of which have been distributed since October 2000), a leaflet entitled An Introduction to the Human Rights Act - available in nine different languages - plus an audio tape and a copy of the study guide in Braille. We are also commissioning a CD-ROM which will contain multimedia guidance on the Act, a further edition of study guide, and special guidance for those with learning disabilities.
3.7 On the third anniversary of the commencement of the Human Rights Act (2 October 2003) we sent a copy of an Audit Commission report on human rights to all leaders and chief executives of local authorities in England and Wales underlining the report's key message - that the Act can be a valuable tool for driving up standards of public service delivery.
3.8 We continue to sponsor and assist in the roll out of the Impetus project - a scheme to encourage children across the UK to learn about human rights as part of their citizenship education (see www.impetusawards.org.uk).
3.9 We led a comprehensive interdepartmental review of the UK's position on international human rights instruments, the outcomes of which will be reported to Parliament in due course. We provide support for a regular Ministerial forum with leading non-governmental organisations in the UK to help us develop our thinking on human rights matters. DCA's Minister with responsibility for domestic human rights chairs the forum. We co-ordinated the visit to the UK by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, and are now co-ordinating the UK response to the Committee's report on its visit. We also compiled the Fourth UK report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture.
3.10 We played a leading role in support of Ministers representing the UK Government in negotiations in Brussels on possible incorporation of the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights into the Community treaties, and the possible accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights. A number of amendments to the Charter were proposed to make it more suitable for legal status. At the time of writing this report the Member States had not agreed upon a draft constitution treaty for the EU, of which the Charter would form Part II.
3.11 In addition, DCA is responsible for wide areas of the substantive civil law. This law defines citizens' rights and responsibilities towards one another, and regulates fundamental transactions like contracts and conveyancing. Our objective is to ensure that this framework is fair and that the law is as simple and clear as possible so that people can understand their rights and responsibilities. Simpler law can also reduce burdens on citizens, businesses, taxpayers and the courts.
3.12 We sponsor the Law Commission (see Chapter 6), and work closely with it to ensure that its programme reflects the Government's objectives and priorities. John Halliday, an independent consultant, carried out a review of the Law Commission and the law reform process during 2002/03 and published his findings in March 2003. We accepted the thrust of that report, and are working across Government to consider and oversee implementation of its 42 recommendations. We expect the bulk of the recommendations to have been implemented by the end of 2004/05.
Rights with responsibilities |
3.13 In the meantime we are taking forward a number of projects for reforming the substantive law including:
Access to justice for all, no matter who you are
or where you live |
3.14 The Publication Scheme provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force for Government Departments and many non-departmental public bodies in November 2002. Local authorities followed in February 2003. These provisions, which require authorities to disclose specified information proactively, will roll out progressively across the public sector in the run up to full implementation of the Act in January 2005.
3.15 DCA, in consultation with the Information Commissioner, has put in place work to help ensure effective implementation of the Publication Scheme by public bodies. These include the production of guidance on all of the Statutory Exemptions to the FOI regime, development of a specification for an IT system to provide effective monitoring of FOI requests and the establishment of networks of FOI practitioners to provide support and exchange knowledge and best practice.
3.16 The Data Protection Act 1998 provides the statutory regulatory framework for the holding and processing of information on living individuals. This legislation sets out a number of key principles underpinning the use of personal data, including the need for processing to be lawful and fair, used only for appropriate purposes, for data to be accurate, not excessive and kept no longer than is necessary. The Act applies across both the public and private sectors throughout the UK.
3.17 The public have rights of access to information about them held by, for example, their bank, employer or doctor. We provide administrative support to the Tribunal that hears appeals; we also sponsor the Office of the Information Commissioner, which is a non-departmental public body enforcing the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts.
3.18 The Performance and Innovation Unit (now Strategy Unit) published the report, Privacy and data sharing: The Way Forward for Public Services, in April 2002. This set out a five-point strategy for making better use of personal data already held in the public sector, at the same time as safeguarding privacy. DCA is tasked with taking the strategy forward. In doing so, we have addressed many of the practical difficulties faced by public bodies by providing clarity on the law and encouraging good information management practice. We have published comprehensive guidance on the existing legal powers available to public bodies to share personal data, as well as guidance on producing the data-sharing protocols that should underpin data-sharing arrangements.
3.19 We are working on further guidance documents and examples of good practice that will together form a 'data-sharing toolkit' (see www.dca.gov.uk). We have also consulted on the publication of a 'guarantee' that will let people know the standards public bodies adhere to when handling personal data. We are now developing a 'privacy impact assessment' that will help policy makers to determine whether data sharing is justified and how to avoid or minimise any negative impact on privacy.
3.20 A further step in joining up the Government's approach to information rights issues has been the combining of preparatory work on the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations. Both pieces of legislation will be fully implemented by 1 January 2005. The Act and Regulations give the public a right of access to information held by public authorities. The Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations will apply to approximately 100,000 public authorities, including central and local government, Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, the armed forces, the police, hospitals, GPs and dentists, schools, universities, publicly-funded museums and many other bodies. Northern Ireland has decided to adopt and operate the Act in line with England and Wales. The Scottish Parliament has enacted separate Freedom of Information legislation, which applies to bodies within the competence of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Act will also be fully in force on 1 January 2005.
3.21 DCA has responsibility for Government policy on transsexual people. The Government is legislating to give transsexual people legal recognition in their acquired gender, ensuring that for the first time transsexual people are afforded the rights appropriate to that gender.
3.22 The Gender Recognition Bill currently (March 2004) before Parliament provides transsexual people who have taken decisive steps to live fully and permanently in their acquired gender with the opportunity to gain legal recognition for their new gender. The Bill will extend to the UK as a whole. It thereby brings the UK into compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
3.23 The Gender Recognition Bill gives transsexual people the right, from the date of recognition, to marry in their acquired gender and be given birth certificates that recognise the acquired gender. They will be able to obtain benefits and State pension just like anyone else of that gender.
3.24 The Bill was first published in draft on 11 July 2003 for pre-legislative scrutiny by the Joint Committee on Human Rights and introduced into the House of Lords on 27 November 2003. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Bill should be enacted in 2004.
3.25 One of DCA's key challenges is to improve public access to the justice system while ensuring value for money and without incurring unsustainable cost to the taxpayer. In order to fulfil this commitment, it is crucial that people know what their rights and responsibilities are, and how they can be enforced. This is particularly important if we are to help the poor and the vulnerable take effective action against the problems they face, and so avoid the spiral that, if unchecked, can lead to social exclusion.
3.26 Legal aid has a crucial role to play in delivering this objective. Through the structures introduced by the Community Legal Service, such as the Community Legal Service Partnerships and the Community Legal Service Quality Mark, legal aid resources are being targeted more effectively in order to maximise help to those most in need. Further information on the Community Legal Service can be found at www.legalservices.gov.uk. A summary of how the total legal aid budget was spent in 2002/03 follows.
| £m (Cash Net) 2002/03 | ||
| Community legal service | ||
| Civil representation | 483.3 | |
| Immigration help | 167.5 | |
| Non-immigration help | 162.2 | |
| Total | 813 | |
| Criminal defence service | 1,096 | |
| Total legal aid expenditure | 1,909 | |
Case study: Community Law Centre Chrissie, a single mother facing eviction, approached her local Community Law Centre for assistance. Having been on benefits for many years she had returned the previous year to full-time study to improve her prospects of finding employment. With the award of a student grant she applied for reassessment of her housing benefit. More than six months later her housing benefit claim remained outstanding and her rent account was in arrears by several thousand pounds. For many months she attempted to handle the case herself. By the time she arrived at the Law Centre she faced the loss of her home, was in massive debt, her relationship had broken down, her mental health was suffering and she was about to give up her course because she couldn't cope any longer. Following the Law Centre's intervention the council agreed to move Chrissie to more suitable, affordable accommodation and her housing benefit was sorted out, enabling her to continue successfully with her course. Her housing benefit problems did recur but this time round she contacted the Law Centre at an early stage, enabling early intervention and protection of her new tenancy. |
3.27 Improving education, information and advice for consumers is emerging as a key theme of the DCA's Consumer Strategy Review (see Chapter 5). More widely, we have undertaken a number of initiatives to raise awareness of the significant role played by legal aid and other legal and advice services in supporting vulnerable individuals and families most at risk of social exclusion. In February 2004 we published the document Legal and Advice Services - A Pathway to Regeneration. This follows on from the 2001 Pathways publication and emphasises how co-operation and partnership working between agencies can impact on social exclusion. The case study above has been taken from the 2004 publication.
3.28 DCA chairs the Inter-Departmental Working Group on Advice. In August 2003, the Group completed a joint report mapping out the provision of advice services across some ten Government Departments. It has now moved on to identify six specific actions to be taken forward, that will ensure greater customer focus through the integrated delivery of advice services across Government:
3.29 This work will help build on some of the existing bilateral initiatives being pioneered by DCA and which are making a real difference to those living in the most vulnerable communities. For example, DCA and DfES have overseen four joint projects (see below) which bring together the work of the Community Legal Service and Connexions Partnerships.
3.30 The Community Legal Service Website Just Ask! (www.justask.org.uk) which now averages over 50,000 hits a week as well as providing a directory of quality marked information and advice providers, also gives access to a range of leaflets on a number of legal topics and links to over 300 websites containing legal information.
Appropriate legal aid for those who need it |
3.31 We have a specific target to increase year on year the number of people who receive suitable assistance in priority areas of law involving fundamental rights or social exclusion (PSA target 6). This target illustrates the keen focus that we have been giving to the provision of legal aid and other advice services. The strategy for delivering on this target has been centred on three key areas of activity:
3.32 Performance against this target is being measured by the triennial National Periodic Survey of Legal Needs. The first Survey was conducted in 2001 and collected baseline information relating to the type and number of justiciable problems that individuals encounter, and their experience in obtaining advice relating to these problems. The baseline against which the target is to be measured was that 31 people per thousand were receiving suitable assistance in priority areas of law. These include the many social welfare categories of law, such as housing, debt, welfare benefits and employment, as well as issues involving the welfare of children and families. Achievement against the target will be calculated by identifying the number of future respondents who experienced a justiciable problem and then identifying those who had received suitable assistance.
3.33 In order to ensure that the target is met, we aim to raise the figure from 31 to 34 people per thousand by the end of 2005/06. The second National Periodic Survey of Legal Need, against which performance is measured, will be conducted from April to August 2004 and initial results will be available in early 2005.
A legal system to serve the public |
3.34 As the National Periodic Survey of Legal Need is only undertaken on a triennial basis, we have also commissioned an annual telephone survey from the Legal Services Research Centre. Results from the second such survey which was conducted in November 2003, have been encouraging. In relation to all 'concluded' problems, the proportion of successful attempts to obtain suitable assistance had risen from 31.2% to 33.9%; for 'ongoing' problems, the proportion had risen from 26.8% to 39.6%. Although results from future telephone surveys will be required before we know whether this reflects a firm upward trend, these figures give us some early confidence that we are on course to achieve PSA target 6.
3.35 Part of our work to promote a culture where people are aware of their rights and responsibilities and are able to exercise them freely involves making sure that proportionate legal services are available and accessible. These are some of the reasons why on the 24 July 2003 we announced an independent review of the regulatory framework for legal services led by Sir David Clementi aimed at promoting competition and innovation and improving services for the customer.
3.36 The review was launched in response to the Government's report entitled Competition and Regulation in the Legal Services Market which stated that the current framework was 'outdated, inflexible, over-complex and insufficiently accountable or transparent'.
Case study: Community Legal Service and Connexions Norfolk The Connexions Service has indicated its commitment to adopt the Community Legal Service Quality Mark as their service standard, developing strategic and Community Legal Service Partnership links with a view to taking forward a shared agenda. Merseyside All the Community Legal Service Partnerships have recognised the need to improve access to advice for young people and this features in a number of the Community Legal Service Partnership Strategic Plans. Darlington A One-stop Connexions shop has been opened and the Darlington Connexions Accommodation and Vision sub-group are trying to ensure that legal services play a major role in the centre. South West A Connexions 'information point' has been established in local school libraries covering Bath and North East Somerset / South Gloucestershire. |
3.37 The terms of reference of the review are:
3.38 The review is independent and unrestricted. Sir David has said that he is looking in detail at:
3.39 More details about the review, including a consultation document published on 8 March (responses should be with the review by noon on Friday 4 June 2004), are available at www.legal-services-review.org.uk. Sir David Clementi will report by the end of 2004.