Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to respond to the Ninth Report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights of Session 2006-07, The Meaning of Public Authority under the Human Rights Act HC 410; for what reasons he has not yet responded to the report; and if he will make a statement.
Answer
My noble Friend the Baroness Ashton of Upholland, then Minister for Human Rights, wrote to the hon. Member following the publication of the report in question. She explained that the Government could not at that point fully address the issues surrounding section 6 of the Human Rights Act until the implications of the judgment in YL v. Birmingham city council were known. The Government have since legislated to overturn the principal effects of that judgment through section 145 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and are also committed to consulting further on the scope of the Human Rights Act. We believe those of the issues raised in the Joint Committee's report that remain relevant following these developments can best be addressed in that context.