Publications

Submission to the UN Committee on ICESCR – Parallel Report for the List of Issues in Relation to the Seventh Periodic Report of the United Kingdom

Date produced December 2022.

Below is a summary of the recommendations.

You can also download the full document through the links provided.

2.1 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure there is comprehensive, consistent disaggregated data available in NI that reflects societal makeup? Also, what steps the SP is taking to conduct cumulative impact assessments to inform decisions in NI?

3.1 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure the NIHRC has adequate and secure long-term funding that is sufficient to fulfil its statutory functions and ensure its compliance with the UN Paris Principles?

3.2 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure the NIHRC has adequate and secure long-term funding that is sufficient to fulfil its statutory functions and ensure its compliance with the UN Paris Principles?

3.3 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that, consistent with a no regression approach to rights, there is no weakening of the Protocol Article 2 ‘no diminution’ commitment or the rights, safeguards and oversight mechanisms relating to this commitment?

3.4 What effective steps is the SP taking when making changes to retained EU law impacting economic, social and cultural rights, to ensure that policy changes are made by primary legislation rather than secondary legislation or other ‘accelerated processes’? Also, what effective steps is the SP taking to assess compliance with Protocol Article 2?

3.5 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure the fundamental principles of human rights are adhered to and any reform to the UK’s human rights framework does not weaken human rights protections, but builds on the Human Rights Act 1998, as part of further progress in strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights in the UK? This includes ensuring compliance with the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and Article 2 of the Ireland/NI Protocol.

4.1 What steps is the SP taking to consolidate, strengthen and clarify equality protections in NI within a Single Equality Act, which includes intersectional multiple discrimination?

4.2 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that up-to-date robust, gender-sensitive, culturally appropriate equality-related strategies and action plans with ring-fenced funding are promptly developed, implemented and monitored in NI?

4.3 What effective steps is the SP taking to promptly and effectively eradicate and remedy hate crime in NI, including improving hate crime legislation?

4.4 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure individuals who wish to participate in sport in NI are supported to do so irrespective of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, and sex characteristics, guided by the principles of reasonableness, proportionality and non-discrimination?

4.5 What effective steps is the SP taking to remove the barriers to persons with disabilities accessing sports in NI, with particular consideration of addressing barriers that have arisen due to COVID-19?

5.1 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that childcare facilities and arrangements in NI are available, affordable and accessible? This includes ensuring that a flexible and accessible childcare model is in place in NI that operates outside traditional working hours. It also includes introducing statutory arrangements in NI to deliver extended, affordable, responsive, high-quality provision of early education and care initiatives for families with children, using the provision available in other parts of the UK as a starting point.

5.2 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that the gender pay gap and insecure, low paid employment of women in NI is effectively addressed and monitored? This includes ensuring that the provisions regarding mandatory pay gap reporting in the Employment Act (NI) 2016 are brought into effect in NI. It also includes ensuring that employers in NI are required to publish a narrative with their gender pay gap data and that this is evaluated.

5.3 What effective measures is the SP taking to tackle the low employment rate for deaf and disabled people in NI, and how the SP intends to guarantee the provision of long-term funding arrangements for new and existing disability employment projects in NI?

5.4 What effective steps is the SP taking to promptly amend the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NI) Order 1978 for the purpose of enabling an offender to be rehabilitated if their circumstances satisfy human rights compliant criteria, particularly when the NI Executive and NI Assembly are suspended?

5.5 What effective steps is the SP taking to protect migrant workers against exploitation and abuse, this includes ensuring that all migrant workers enjoy the same conditions as other workers in NI, and have effective access to complaint mechanisms and legal assistance?

5.6 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that the root causes of human trafficking and exploitation are addressed in NI and that trauma-informed, specialised, accessible support for victims of human trafficking and exploitation is sufficient and promptly available when required, and adequately funded across NI? This includes promptly introducing Trafficking and Exploitation Risk Orders in NI, that are guided by individual victim’s assessments. It also includes reviewing and amending as required legislation and policy, such as the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, to ensure it adopts a victims-based approach.

6.1 What effective steps is the SP taking to comprehensively eradicate poverty in NI, including fuel poverty and child poverty? This includes developing, implementing and monitoring an up-to-date anti-poverty strategy and action plan. It also includes ensuring that education support grants in NI, such as a uniform grant, are sufficient and proportional to costs.

6.2 What effective steps is the SP taking to tackle food insecurity in NI on an emergency and long-term basis? This includes ensuring children in NI receive Free School Meals during school holidays as standard.

6.3 What effective steps is the SP taking to effectively ensure that social security is accessible, promptly available in NI, and maximum available resources are used to guarantee an adequate standard of living to all recipients, which is guided by a cumulative impact assessment that is regularly monitored? This includes ensuring that a comprehensive and secure mitigation package is applied in NI where necessary and maintained for as long as required. It includes repealing the two-child tax limit, making separate Universal Credit payments the primary option, remedying the five-week wait for Universal Credit, and promptly remedying accessibility and assessment issues with Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment.

6.4 What effective steps is the SP taking to effectively ensure that social security is accessible, promptly available in NI, and maximum available resources are used to guarantee an adequate standard of living to all recipients, which is guided by a cumulative impact assessment that is regularly monitored? This includes ensuring that a comprehensive and secure mitigation package is applied in NI where necessary and maintained for as long as required. It includes repealing the two-child tax limit, making separate Universal Credit payments the primary option, remedying the five-week wait for Universal Credit, and promptly remedying accessibility and assessment issues with Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment.

6.5 What effective steps is the SP taking to address the causes of destitution in the first instance, and to introduce measures targeted at all individuals living in or at risk of poverty in NI, including people seeking asylum, refugees, migrants and other vulnerable groups? Additionally, what effective steps is the SP taking to place interim necessary support in NI, such as the Crisis Fund, on a permanent footing and with guaranteed funding?

6.6 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure people seeking asylum in NI are not destitute and are provided with financial support that is proportional to the cost of living, takes account of specific needs and is not unnecessarily restricted (for example, it can be used to make purchases online)? This includes reviewing restrictions that prevent people seeking asylum from working while claims are being processed.

6.7 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure unpaid carers, particularly young and older carers, in NI are adequately supported proportional to the cost of living? This includes uplifting the Carers Allowance and introducing additional carers recognition payments that are proportional to the cost of living.

6.8 What immediate and effective steps is the SP taking to eliminate all forms of homelessness in NI? Also, what effect steps is the SP taking to address the factors contributing to the deaths of rough sleepers in NI?

6.9 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that there is sufficient and appropriate long-term social housing available to meet demand in NI, including mitigating measures to address existing waiting lists? This includes revising the housing selection scheme in NI to ensure that it effectively considers applicants’ circumstances and reflects up-to-date common challenges faced by individuals and households in NI, in addition to providing adequate mechanisms for appeal.

6.10 What effective steps is the SP taking to promptly, robustly and collaboratively eradicate paramilitary and sectarian intimidation that causes families to be forced out of their homes in NI? This includes actively monitoring the situation by ensuring that comprehensive equality data on housing in NI is regularly gathered, monitored, evaluated and published.

6.11 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that the support and accommodation provided to refugees and people seeking asylum in NI is adequate, fit for purpose and in compliance with human rights standards, with particular consideration of the needs of families and persons with disabilities? Also, what effective steps is the SP taking to end the use of hotels as contingency accommodation for people seeking asylum in NI?

6.12 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that it is recognising and facilitating the cultural rights of Travellers in NI to live their traditional lifestyle? This includes ensuring that there is sufficient Traveller-specific accommodation available in NI with sufficient access to essential utilities on a long-term basis, and that the Unauthorised Encampments (NI) Order 2005 is promptly repealed.

7.1 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that unmarried couples in NI can make retrospective bereavement benefit claims dated back to February 2016?

7.2 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that there are minimum standards for foster care and a statutory requirement for foster care to be inspected in NI?

7.3 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that climate justice values are adopted in all laws and policies aimed at tackling climate change in NI, including ensuring there is a focus on the specific needs of and preventative measures for individuals most affected? This includes ensuring that there is a statutory ban on all forms of fracking in NI.

7.4 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that child marriage is prohibited in NI? This includes ensuring that necessary legislative changes are undertaken in NI to increase the minimum age for marriage to 18 years. It also includes strengthening efforts in NI to combat forced marriages, such as sensitising parents on the need for full and free consent of their child to marry.

7.5 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that all policies and support for victims of domestic and sexual violence and abuse in NI are specialised, accessible, gender-sensitive and guaranteed sustainable funding? This includes gathering and monitoring relevant disaggregated data and conducting meaningful engagement with victims, survivors and representative organisations in NI. It also includes ensuring that support is available, regardless of immigration status, and that sufficient refuge places are available in NI according to need.

7.6 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that the UK COVID-19 Inquiry is conducted expeditiously and that it fully examines the response in NI? Also, how will the SP ensure that the recommendations from the UK COVID-19 Inquiry are effectively implemented in NI, particularly in relation to the management of the pandemic in care homes, ensuring that learning is disseminated across the sector and that a human rights-based plan is in place in NI for any future outbreak?

8.1 What effective steps is the SP taking to identify and minimise procedural barriers to people seeking asylum in NI accessing healthcare, particularly women, persons with disabilities and people in temporary or contingency accommodation?

8.2 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure ring-fenced, long-term funding is in place and effectively utilised to ensure accessing safe abortion services locally across NI? Also, what effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that non-biased, scientifically sound and rights-based counselling and information on all methods of contraception are available, affordable and fully accessible across NI. This includes adopting a protocol that facilitates access at pharmacies, clinics and hospitals in NI.

8.3 What effective steps is the SP taking to address the waiting lists for gender-affirming healthcare in NI, including adopting a self-declaration approach to gender recognition?

8.4 What effective steps is the SP taking across the UK to ensure ring-fenced, long-term funding is in place for mental health care in NI that effectively addresses objective need?

8.5 What effective steps is the SP taking to address the existing National Health Service health and dental care waiting lists in NI, including building service capacity to meet demand and ensure timely and adequate access to health and dental care in NI when required?

8.6 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure perimenopausal and menopausal women in NI have equal access to employment throughout their working life? Also, what immediate steps is the SP taking to ensure perimenopausal and menopausal women in NI have access to medication and treatments on a long-term and affordable basis?

8.7 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that the provision of free period products in NI is as wide as possible to avoid divergence in access, that this provision does not become an undue burden on organisation or premises affected, and that period products that are not free are not inaccessibly priced and fully accessible as need requires?

8.8 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure comprehensive, scientifically accurate, age-appropriate relationships and sexuality education is delivered as standard in all schools in NI?

9.1 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that there is a non-selective system of post-primary school admission NI, including abolishing the two-tier system of education?

9.2 What specific steps is the SP taking to address bullying experienced by particular groups of children in NI, such as by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or questioning) and intersex+ pupils and children from ethnic minorities? This includes ensuring that children, all teachers and other education providers in NI are trained on how to identify, address and remedy the impacts of bullying, including online bullying.

9.3 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that an up-to-date policy and action plan for educating children of migrant families is in place in NI and that teacher training is provided that promotes cultural awareness within schools and ensures a curriculum bespoke to pupils’ specific needs and experiences is provided across NI?

9.4 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure educational underachievement in NI, particularly for Traveller and Roma children, is addressed. This includes early intervention, teacher training, implementation of the bespoke approach to school curriculums in line with a child’s specific needs and provision of ring-fenced funding.

9.5 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that sufficient integrated education is available across NI, including ensuring that the Integrated Education Act (NI) 2022 is implemented in full and prompt action is taken across NI to satisfy the demand for integrated education?

9.6 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that long-term, secure funding for shared education is guaranteed in NI, including ensuring that any potential negative impact on funding of shared education due to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU is adequately mitigated?

9.7 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that children with special educational needs in NI are promptly and comprehensively assessed and provided with the appropriate support? This includes appropriate education support, as well as transport and other measures, to ensure effective educational engagement to improve children’s outcomes. For example, what steps is the SP taking to ensure the full and effective implementation of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (NI) 2016 without further delay? Furthermore, what effective steps is the SP taking to ensure children with special educational needs that have been adversely affected by delays in the assessment process are effectively remedied in NI?

10.1 What effective steps is the SP taking to protect, promote and progress minority language and culture in NI, particularly regarding Irish language and Ulster Scots culture and heritage? This includes undertaking meaningful engagement with minorities and their representative organisations in NI.

10.2 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that there are sufficient legal protections and ring-fenced, long-term funding that is proportional to inflation for artists in NI?

11.1 What effective steps is the SP taking to ensure that NI is included in the UK’s national action plan on business and human rights?