The Joint Committee on Human Rights' Report on the Implementation of the Right of Disabled People to Independent Living published this week found that the UK Government has failed to adequately assess the cumulative impact of current reforms on the human rights of disabled people.

JCHR recommended that the Government should publish an integrated human rights and equality impact assessment of the likely cumulative impact of the proposals on independent living - based on the methodology which CHRP has been developing for the Scottish Human Rights' Commission. See our report here.

JCHR welcomed the commitment by the Secretary of State for Justice, Kenneth Clarke, to consider the outcomes of the process being developed by the Scottish Human Rights Commission and the Equality and Human Rights Commission and "to see if it holds any useful lessons for Whitehall departments in the
way in which they assess the human rights impact of laws and policies." (see paras 102-115 of the report).

The Centre for Human Rights in Practice, together with Coventry Women's Voices, has today launched a project to examine the human rights and equality impact of the public spending cuts on older women in Coventry.

This project follows on from the Centre's previous work which examined the potential impact of the cuts on all women in Coventry. The current study will examine the actual impact of the cuts on one particularly vulnerable group - older women.

Centre co-director, Dr. James Harrison commented: "We are delighted to be continuing our collaboration with Coventry Women's Voices which has already produced a report with far-reaching impacts. Older women are vulnerable to a wide range of different cuts including to health, social care, transport, housing and many other forms of support. This project will examine the cumulative impacts of these cuts on particularly vulnerable individuals in a way that is vital to any effective action to protect their human rights and ensure they are not discriminated against."

Mary-Ann Stephenson, CHRP Associate Fellow, has produced a toolkit for trade unions, voluntary organisations, community groups and others who want to assess the human rights and equality impact of the spending cuts on women in their communities. Although the toolkit focuses on women and the cuts, much of the information it contains can be used to look at the impact of the cuts on other groups. The toolkit is available here.

The toolkit is based upon the methodology employed by Ms Stephenson and Dr Harrison in their stury of the human rights and equality impact of the public spending cuts on women in Coventry. Information about that study is available here.