CLOSE RIGHTS LOOPHOLE FOR OLDER PEOPLE ASAP, SAYS MEP

4.46.34pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 7th May 2008

Liberal Democrat MEP Liz Lynne is urging the government to move quickly to close a loophole that exempts thousands of older people in the UK from human rights legislation. She has also raised the issue with the EU institutions by amending a parliamentary question on elder abuse, which will be debated later this month.

Leading Age Charities estimate that over 10% of older people have experienced some form of serious age related abuse, whether this is physical, psychological or financial. But in the UK older people resident in private care homes are excluded from the 1998 Human Rights Act because it was ruled that private homes do not carry out a 'public function' in caring for people referred by local authorities.

After speaking in a debate in the Employment and Social Affairs Committee on elder abuse, Liz Lynne MEP, Vice President of the Committee, said:

"The fact that private care home residents are not covered by UK human rights legislation has shocked many of my colleagues in the European Parliament and is an appalling scandal which the Government should have addressed long ago. This loophole means that private care home residents have less legal protection from abuse than any other EU country.

"There are also major differences in rules in the establishment and scrutiny of private care homes across the EU which need further investigation and action. Older Abuse is a major, often unacknowledged, scandal that must no longer be swept under the carpet. It happens in personal homes, residential and nursing homes, hospitals, and day centres, every single day."