Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Submission to the UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights 58th Session on the Sixth Periodic Report of the United Kingdom’s Compliance with ICESCR April 2016 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Temple Court, 39 North Street Belfast BT1 1NA Tel: +44 (0) 28 9024 3987 Fax: +44 (0) 28 9024 7844 Textphone: +44 (0) 28 9024 9066 SMS Text: +44 (0) 7786 202075 Email: [email protected] 2 Contents Contents .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 6 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 14 Northern Ireland Executive Involvement in Treaty Reporting .......................................................... 15 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission ................................................................................... 15 Human Rights Act and proposed repeal ........................................................................................... 16 A Bill of Rights for NI ......................................................................................................................... 18 UK referendum on membership of the European Union ................................................................. 19 Article 2(1) - Maximum Available Resources ........................................................................................ 20 (Article 2 (1) on Maximum Available Resources and Article 9 on the Right to Social Security) ....... 20 Agreement on Welfare Reform in NI ............................................................................................ 20 Article 2 (2)- Non-Discrimination .......................................................................................................... 25 Single Equality Bill ............................................................................................................................. 25 Intersectional Discrimination ............................................................................................................ 25 Age Discrimination in the Provision of Goods, Facilities and Services ............................................. 26 Racial Equality Strategy ..................................................................................................................... 26 Article 3- Equal Rights of Men and Women .......................................................................................... 27 Institutional mechanisms and the Gender Equality Strategy ........................................................... 27 Gender Pay Gap ................................................................................................................................ 28 Article 6-The Right to Work .................................................................................................................. 30 Persons with Disabilities ................................................................................................................... 30 National Living Wage ........................................................................................................................ 31 Asylum Seekers and Permission to work .......................................................................................... 31 English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) .............................................................................. 33 Article 7-The Right to Just and Favourable Conditions of Work ........................................................... 33 Forced Labour ................................................................................................................................... 33 Director of Labour Market Enforcement .......................................................................................... 34 Article 10-Protection of the Family, Mothers and Children ................................................................. 35 Accessible Childcare .......................................................................................................................... 35 Female Genital Mutilation ................................................................................................................ 36 Child, Early and Forced Marriage ...................................................................................................... 37 Domestic and Gender Based Violence .............................................................................................. 38 3 Human Trafficking ............................................................................................................................. 40 Article 11- Right to an Adequate Standard of Living............................................................................. 41 Poverty in NI ...................................................................................................................................... 41 Strategies aimed at Tackling Poverty ................................................................................................ 42 Human Rights, Fiscal Policy and Poverty .......................................................................................... 44 Food Banks ........................................................................................................................................ 46 Social assistance for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Migrants ......................................................... 47 Changes to asylum Support .......................................................................................................... 47 The Crisis Fund .................................................................................................................................. 49 Housing in NI ..................................................................................................................................... 49 Homelessness statistics in NI ........................................................................................................ 49 Changes related to Local Housing Allowance and the Private Rented Sector .............................. 50 Security of Tenure in the Private Rented Sector........................................................................... 51 Fitness Standard in Housing .......................................................................................................... 51 Homelessness and complex needs ............................................................................................... 52 Lack of Refuge Places .................................................................................................................... 53 Supply and Demand in Housing .................................................................................................... 53 Mortgages and Repossessions ...................................................................................................... 55 Equality Impact Assessments and Equality Data .......................................................................... 57 Segregated and shared housing .................................................................................................... 58 Traveller Accommodation ............................................................................................................. 59 Site licences and planning permission .......................................................................................... 59 Unauthorised Encampments (NI) Order 2005 .............................................................................. 60 Standards of Traveller accommodation ........................................................................................ 61 Article 12-The Right to Physical and Mental Health ............................................................................. 62 Termination of Pregnancy ................................................................................................................. 62 Eligibility on Blood Donations ........................................................................................................... 63 Use of Electro-convulsive therapy in NI ............................................................................................ 64 Suicide Prevention ............................................................................................................................ 65 Access to Healthcare for Asylum Seekers and Migrants................................................................... 66 Articles 13 and 14-The Right to Education............................................................................................ 67 Traveller Education ........................................................................................................................... 67 Shared and Integrated Education ..................................................................................................... 68 Inequality in Education ..................................................................................................................... 69 4 Article 15-Cultural Rights .....................................................................................................................