Human Rights and Care Homes

How far does the duty to act compatibly with human rights reach into the private sector, to bodies that are not inherently public but exercise "functions of a public nature"? In YL v Birmingham City Council, Southern Cross & Others [2007] UKHL 27, the House of Lords held by a bare majority that a privately-run care home, providing services under contract with a local authority, is not a person exercising "functions of a public nature" and therefore is not bound by section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 ("the HRA").

• Article from Public Focus Nov 07