There is growing evidence that people affected by mental health issues in Scotland do not fully enjoy their right to access timely, good quality support. We also know that disabled people, people living with long term conditions and unpaid carers can experience poorer mental health and may have different requirements that affect how they access mental health support and services.

By mainstreaming equalities and human rights in our mental health law and policy we can ensure that people living with mental health issues have a strong voice and enjoy their right to live well, free from discrimination, and with support and services that put them at the centre.

The ALLIANCE has engaged extensively with recent developments in mental health law, policy and practice, through responding to the Scottish Mental Health Law Review, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and the Suicide Prevention Strategy.

We are also an active member of the Scottish Government’s Mental Health Equality and Human Rights Stakeholder Forum.

For more information on our mental health policy work, please email Lucy Mulvagh, Director of Policy, Research and Impact at lucy.mulvagh@alliance-scotland.org.uk

The latest data from the Office of National Statistics estimate 2.1 million people in the UK are living with Long Covid, which equates to over 187,000 people in Scotland. Yet people living with Long Covid have shared concerns that the condition is not sufficiently recognised. The ALLIANCE works to influence changes in Long Covid care in Scotland to ensure policy and practice are informed by voices of people with lived experience.

In November 2021 we published a response to the Scottish Government’s Long Covid Service Paper, outlining key recommendations and priorities which should be at the heart of Scotland’s approach to Long Covid.

In May 2022, in partnership with Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) we published a commissioned research report by Emma Miller to build understanding of the life circumstances of people with Long Covid in Scotland, as well as their experiences of accessing social support.

Last year the ALLIANCE established the Long Covid Lived Experience Network, in partnership with Asthma + Lung UK and CHSS to gain views from a wide range of people to directly inform service delivery.

We also published an anthology of Opinions about people’s experiences of Long Covid, spanning people with lived experience of Long Covid, those researching supports and treatment options, and people working within the third sector to support people with Long Covid.

End of page.

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ALLIANCE has called consistently for an independent, rights based inquiry to take place without delay.

In February 2021, we signed a joint civil society letter to the First Minister calling for a public inquiry into Scotland’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also asked the Scottish Government to commission an independent, person centred inquiry in our manifesto for the 2021 Scottish Parliament Election.

In October 2021 we published a briefing recommending key issues to be included in the remit of the Inquiry, and how it should be done to ensure that people are at the centre and everyone’s voices are heard. We called for human rights and social care to be prioritised and explicitly embedded within the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference.

In 2022, the ALLIANCE was granted core participant status in the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry. The ALLIANCE will represent third sector organisations, disabled people, people living with long term conditions and unpaid carers in relation to:

• the design and delivery of a vaccination strategy
• the requirement for shielding and associated assistance programmes, provided or supported by public agencies
• the provision of healthcare services and social care support, including the management and support of staff and the recognition, involvement and support of unpaid carers.

In early 2023 the ALLIANCE responded to a Rule 8 notice from the Inquiry requesting evidence and documents relating to the handling of COVID-19 in Scotland.

You can find out more about core participant status on the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry website.

End of page.

While the health of people in Scotland continues to improve, health inequalities persist. To reduce health inequalities we need to act across a range of public policy areas to tackle economic and social inequalities alongside actions with a specific focus on disadvantaged groups and deprived areas. This participatory research on health and human rights was commissioned to empower people affected by health inequalities to find solutions.

The research was undertaken in partnership with the ALLIANCE, the Health and Social Care Academy, Glasgow Homelessness Network,  the Mental Health Foundation, and NHS Heath Scotland. The project builds on the work of Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights (SNAP) and informed the work of the Health and Social Care Action Group.

Between December 2015 and January 2016, a total of 83 people participated in the research, including 34 people who had experience of homelessness and 49 women with the status of refugees or asylum seekers took part in the research in Glasgow. They were asked to think about what the right to health meant to them, and to reflect on their past experiences of services and health issues.

Links and resources

Read the full research report.

Watch videos about this project.

View a case study of the project, produced for the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

Any questions?

If you have any questions you can contact Rob Gowans, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at rob.gowans@alliance-scotland.org.uk.

End of page.

In February 2023, the ALLIANCE published a commissioned research report, authored by branch social research, titled ‘The Opportunity is Now’.

The research combines an overarching literature review and analysis of eleven elite interviews across four selected case study areas:

• What next for human rights policy and health and social care in Scotland?
• Learning from the ‘pandemic experience’
• Human rights in healthcare education
• Reflection and aspirations for Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights

It aims to capture some of the issues, barriers, aspirations, innovations and experiences of the health and social care sector in Scotland.

The report seeks to begin to unpack the questions and emerging issues which surround health, social care and human rights – what the sector has been through, where it is now, and where it is going.

Read the full report.

Watch a short video of the third case study on human rights in healthcare education via our YouTube channel.

Listen to an ALLIANCE Live podcast discussing the report findings and its recommendations.

Read our ‘Opportunity is Now’ opinion pieces.

Read a follow-up report analysing a 30 minute live research session with participants who attended the launch event of ‘The Opportunity is Now‘.

Any questions?

If you have any questions you can contact Lucy Mulvagh, Director of Policy, Research and Impact at lucy.mulvagh@alliance-scotland.org.uk

End of page.

In June 2022, the ALLIANCE and CHSS published a new research project, carried out by Dr Emma Miller, into people’s experiences accessing social support for Long Covid in Scotland.

The project aimed to build understanding of the life circumstances of people with Long Covid in Scotland, as well as their experiences of accessing social support.

In January 2022, the ALLIANCE and CHSS published a call for participants to participate in the research. The research draws on the experiences of 32 people, shared through 22 individual interviews and three focus groups. Each participant has been given a pseudonym in the report, and easily identifiable details removed.

The completed report makes recommendations for development of support based on people’s lived experience, and is available here.

Any questions

If you have any questions you can contact Rob Gowans, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at rob.gowans@alliance-scotland.org.uk or Gillian McElroy, Senior Policy Officer at gillian.mcelroy@alliance-scotland.org.uk.

End of page.

The ALLIANCE has been contributing to progressing women’s access to health information and services throughout its history as a third sector champion of lived experience. The ALLIANCE is currently delivering a varied programme of work to involve lived experience with the implementation of the Scottish Government’s Women’s Health Plan. This follows previous ALLIANCE engagement work in 2020 and 2021 to hear from women about their experience of accessing services in Scotland.

The Women’s Health Plan was published by the Scottish Government last year and aims to reduce women’s health inequalities through 66 actions over several target priority areas, focusing on policy and service developments and access to services and information.

The ALLIANCE’s work aims to support women and people who access women’s health services across Scotland to share their experiences to influence change. The ALLIANCE hopes to provide opportunities for positive conversations about women’s health across communities, and support women to access comprehensive resources.

Get involved in our Women’s Health Plan Lived Experience Group, or join us at one of our information events. You can find links to useful resources, including videos, toolkits and information packs.

For more information on any of our work supporting the Women’s Health Plan and to sign up to our monthly newsletter email whp@alliance-scotland.org.uk

End of page. 

What is the Rights Removal Bill?

The Rights Removal Bill is a proposed law that was introduced by the UK Government on 22 June 2022. This is formally known as the ‘Bill of Rights Bill‘ however campaigners are referring to it as the Rights Removal Bill.

The proposed Bill would replace the Human Rights Act 1998 with much weaker human rights protections. This is regressive and would cause legal uncertainty, particularly for devolved nations.

In September 2022 it was decided that the UK Government has postponed the Bill. The date for its second reading is still to be announced.

What are we doing about it?

The ALLIANCE is working with civil society organisations across the UK to say ‘no’ to the Rights Removal Bill. You can read more about what we have been doing via the links below:

ALLIANCE consultation responses:

• ALLIANCE Response to consultation on Human Rights Act Reform (March 2022) 
• ALLIANCE Response – Independent Human Rights Act Review Call for Evidence (March 2021)

Joint activity:

• Joint civil society briefing to MPs (September 2022)
• Joint statement on UK Rights Removal Bill (July 2022)
• Joint response to consultation on Human Rights Act Reform with HRCS and others (March 2022)
• Joint letter to the Prime Minister on retaining the Human Rights Act (December 2021)
• Joint response to Independent Review of the Human Rights Act (March 2021)

Opinion pieces

ALLIANCE members and partners have shared their views on the impact of the Rights Removal Bill in Scotland:

• Alan Miller, Professor of Practice in Human Rights Law, University of Strathclyde
• Dr Elaine Webster, Director of the Centre for the Study of Human Rights Law, University of Strathclyde
• Carlyn Miller, Head of Policy and Programmes at the British Institute of Human Rights

Further reading

• The British Institute of Human Rights Rights Removal Bill Hub
• Scottish Government response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights Legislative Scrutiny

For more information, please contact Lucy Mulvagh, Director of Policy, Research and Impact at lucy.mulvagh@alliance-scotland.org.uk

The growing focus on human rights in Scotland is a welcome development towards building a society in which all people are equally valued. Human rights incorporation has been a key priority for the ALLIANCE. In March 2021, 126 individuals and organisations joined the ALLIANCE and Inclusion Scotland in calling for full and direct incorporation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People into Scots law.

The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a new Human Rights Bill, which will incorporate four international human rights treaties. This new Bill will include specific rights from:

• the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People (UNCRPD)
• the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
• the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
• the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CERD)

The new Human Rights Bill will be underpinned by the recommendations of the National Taskforce for Human Rights Leadership. The National Taskforce was set up in December 2018 and published its final report in March 2021. The report makes 30 recommendations, which have been accepted by the Scottish Government. These include measures which will advance our full range of human rights, including economic, social, cultural and environmental rights.

In June 2022, the ALLIANCE held an online event as part of our Annual Conference to reflect on the recommendations of the National Taskforce and to update on progress towards incorporating human rights into Scots law. Read the event report.

In February 2023, we published ‘The Opportunity is Now’ – human rights in health and social care in Scotland. The research report unpacks questions and emerging issues in the sector, including the Scottish Government’s plans for incorporation.

The ALLIANCE is also an active member of the Civil Society Working Group on Incorporation.

End of page.

Established in 2021, the Action Group for Advancing Human Rights in Health and Social Care is a multi-stakeholder forum, comprised of rights holders, duty bearers and civil society organisations from across the Scottish health and social care landscape. The group includes members from the third sector, the public sector, academia, and people with lived experience.

Purpose

The aim of the Action Group for Advancing Human Rights in Health and Social Care is to bring together rights holders and duty bearers to give focus to human rights development in health and social care.

The Action Group for Advancing Human Rights in Health and Social Care will:

• share information and best practice on human rights in health and social care
• raise awareness and advocate for human rights based approaches to be understood and made real
• promote and develop new human rights initiatives.

Background

The founding members of this group were members of the Health and Social Care Action Group formed under Scotland’s first National Action Plan (SNAP1). Members expressed an interest to transform into an equalities and human rights group, focused on health and social care.

Contacts

For more information about the group, please contact:

Lucy Mulvagh, Director of Policy, Research and Impact at lucy.mulvagh@alliance-scotland.org.uk

Allan Faulds, Senior Policy Officer at allan.faulds@alliance.scotland.org.uk

End of page.