A major review of human rights in health and social care in Scotland has found that the long-waited introduction of new human rights legislation is heavily reliant on the current First Minister, with no cohesive ministerial direction in place.

Four United Nations Human Rights treaties, including Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), are set to be incorporated into Scots law via a Human Rights Bill this parliamentary session.

However, researchers for a report commissioned by the ALLIANCE say this commitment may now be at risk with the departure of Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister.

Researchers from branch social research have found that, although Scotland is on the verge of incorporating legislation that would create a unique human rights environment, a lack of full cabinet buy-in alongside policymaking issues remain barriers.

‘The Opportunity is Now - human rights in health and social care in Scotland: where we've been and the journey ahead’ report warns that Scotland is “dangerously close” to exhausting goodwill and compassion within social care sector.

It highlights that burnout and high staff turnover has placed the care sector in an increasingly “precarious situation”.

The report’s researchers are calling for Scotland’s next First Minister to make the incorporation of human rights a priority.

Barry Black from branch social research and postgraduate researcher at the University of Glasgow said:

“The current Scottish government signalling of their commitment to the incorporation of human rights legislation to Scots Law is to be commended. However, the conclusions of our report warn that it may now be at risk.

“Our research also concluded that the state of the health and social care sector, and its working conditions, is not a position of strength on which to launch serious structural reforms – like the National Care Service.”

In interviews with eleven experts from across the health and social care sector, researchers heard that too much ‘siloing’ of issues had fragmented efforts and resulted in an implementation gap in people being able to realise their rights.

One expert interviewed last year, Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP, Scottish Labour’s spokesperson for social justice and social security, said there is an opportunity now to make positive change, but this will require fundamental shifts in resources and power:

“We have to get real about the fact that that will mean moving resources, people, systems, structures to places that they might not have been before and places that [Scottish government] might not want them to go.

“I don’t know that they [Scottish government] have made that leap to understand that, in particular for disabled people, to call in human rights is going to mean tangible movements of money, probably movements of power and resource and is likely to result, if it’s to be meaningful, in a redistribution of income and wealth.”

A trade union representative explained that part of this process will be to prepare organisations and services for the new human rights legislation to ensure they include rights holders at each stage of their own process.

They told researchers that placing a greater value on human rights during commissioning and tendering of services processes – so those of high quality win contracts over cheaper options – must be a focus.

A full “cultural shift” in how Scottish society understands rights, and their relevance to life in Scotland, was also highlighted by participants as needed alongside implementation of the new legislation.

A national survey previously found that Scots are unaware of their right to influence health and social care policy, calling for improved engagement efforts.

A new Scottish National Action Plan on Human Rights (SNAP2) is currently in development, which a third sector participant said could help people gain a greater appreciation and understanding of rights which may not feel relevant to them:

“If you think of incorporation as being the kind of legal and policy level stuff, SNAP will be one of the mechanisms by which that [legislation or policy] will actually translate into palpable action that will lead to palpable change in people’s lives.

“SNAP2 could be doing a lot of heavy lifting…like the wider sort of human rights education and awareness piece in order that the incorporation will actually work over time.”

Though there has been good progress and initiatives, according to the report, challenges remain in the realisation of people’s rights.

It points to wider awareness-raising, and cultural understanding of human rights as needed across society – particularly among communities who are currently furthest from the realisation of rights.

Sara Redmond, Chief Officer of Development at the ALLIANCE, said Scotland must seize the current political momentum around the rights agenda to make positive change:

“This research offers a thorough investigation of the position and impact of the rights agenda in health and social care.

“The research makes clear that incorporation of human rights will have a significant positive impact on the sector and crucially disabled people, people with long term conditions and their unpaid carers.  However, we know that there is some way to go to ensure that implementation can happen effectively.

“At a time of change, the opportunity is now for the new First Minister to seize and deliver transformational change for people in Scotland.”

Read more: Third of carers feel unsupported, survey shows; Cost of living ‘catastrophic’ for disabled people; Call to fix date for ending social care charges; Insight: Carers in need as fuel poverty hits

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