A TOTAL of 280 submissions from organisations, charities, academics, campaigners and individuals experiencing poverty across the UK have been received in response to a call for evidence put out by Philip Alston, UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty.
They include at least 15 submissions from Scottish organisations or individuals, while many UK-wide organisations have included Scottish concerns.
Issues raised as evidence of potential human rights abuses in Scotland include the plight of asylum seekers facing eviction from accommodation provided under a UK housing contract by multi-national company Serco.
Serco, headed by Winston Churchill’s grandson Rupert Soames, says the company is not paid to house asylum seekers after their claims to protection have been refused and in July unveiled plans to evict them by changing the locks to their flats if necessary.
However, the plan was put on hold following widespread condemnation and proposed legal action on human rights grounds by several law firms.
One law firm also highlighted homelessness as a potential human rights abuse, raising concerns about the so-called gatekeeping practices of Glasgow City Council.
Professor Emeritus Adrian Sinfield of the University of Edinburgh argues the UK Government’s “inconsistency in the uprating of tax thresholds and most working age benefits” runs contrary to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
A submission from the SNP Westminster group focussed on child poverty and Universal Credit “as we feel these are some of the most important areas where UK Government policy is failing people”.
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