Human Rights (Hansard, 27 March 2003)

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, the Government received on 19th March the report and recommendations of the Joint Committee on Human Rights about the matter. We are giving careful attention to those and will give our response in due course.

§ Lord Clinton-Davis
My Lords, the Government have already done a great deal to advance a human rights culture. But does my noble friend agree that there is a decisive need for a central independent body—for example, a human rights commission—to oversee an educational programme, particularly in schools but also elsewhere, if the full purposes of the Human Rights Act 1998 are to be achieved?

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, there is much force in what the noble Lord says. We have, 951 therefore, expressed an intention to consider carefully the Joint Committee's report, which makes just such a recommendation. I can tell noble Lords that it repays very careful reading, and the Government intend to do just that.

§ Lord Lester of Herne Hill
My Lords, I declare an interest as a member of the committee to which the Minister refers. Is she aware that it is now more than five years since the Government expressed two cautionary reservations about a human rights commission, both of which have been met by the Joint Committee? The first was that they needed advice about how it might work; the second was that there should be a sufficiently high degree of consensus among the existing human rights organisations.
Is the Minister also aware that this is one of the most important pieces of unfinished business of the Cook-Maclennan constitutional agreement between our two parties? Can she assure us that it will not be kicked into the long grass for another five years?

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, I am aware of the first two points. But it is only fair for me to remind the House—I am sure that the noble Lord does not need to be reminded—that the Joint Committee, quite properly, took two years to consider the matter. We do not complain about a moment of that time because we think that it will repay careful reading. As the noble Lord says, we must respect the report by examining precisely how the committee proposes to bring about the changes and by considering what is the Government's proper response to those carefully crafted recommendations. I assure noble Lords that the matter will be given anxious consideration across the Government.

Lord Renton
My Lords, having supported the Human Rights Act 1998 without any hesitation at that time, I remind the noble Baroness that, in the past year or so, it has been found to be unenforceable to some extent; therefore, if a human rights commission is set up, it would have much more limited powers than those envisaged under the Human Rights Act.

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, with the greatest respect, I cannot agree with the noble Lord's comment. The Human Rights Act has not been shown to be unenforceable; it has been demonstrated to be an extremely well crafted Act, about which we should all jointly express great pride.

§ Baroness Whitaker
My Lords, I declare an interest as a member of the Joint Committee that drew up the report. When my noble friend considers the report, will she bear in mind, and communicate to her colleagues in 952 the Government that, above all, our recommendations affect very positively the performance of the public services?.

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, we will bear that in mind. I do not hesitate to repeat that there is much in the report that deserves careful consideration and much that many would welcome.

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords, do the Government consider that there already exist in this country organisations that possess the powers and functions to promote and maintain human rights? If not, will the first task of any commission be to obtain general agreement on defining what constitute human rights?

§ Baroness Scotland of Asthal
My Lords, all those issues are important. I do not know whether the noble Lord has yet had the full benefit of looking at the report, but many of those matters are explored in it. The noble Lord will know that the committee took evidence from very many people. I hope that the report will do just what it is doing today—exciting much debate and discussion—so that we can all have an appropriate level of pride about what comes out of it when the Government conclude their deliberations.