THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Company limited by guarantee

Company Registration Number:
04978121 (England and Wales)

Unaudited statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2023

Period of accounts

Start date: 1 January 2023

End date: 31 December 2023

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Contents of the Financial Statements

for the Period Ended 31 December 2023

Directors report
Balance sheet
Additional notes
Balance sheet notes

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Directors' report period ended 31 December 2023

The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company for the period ended 31 December 2023

Principal activities of the company

STRATEGIC AIM 1: Empowering People During 2023 our practical work with individuals primarily focused on improving our information provision. Key to this was our website to support to enable people to build their capacity to self-advocate for their rights and working with the groups that support them through our community programme. STRATEGIC AIM 2: SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES During 2023 we worked with a range of community and voluntary groups reaching thousands of people across the UK. The community and voluntary groups we supported worked with a range of people and issues including children’s rights, health and care advocates, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities support groups and SENDIAS advocacy services, people in drug and alcohol recovery and advocacy, people with learning disabilities, torture survivors, women subjected to discrimination. NATIONAL ADVOCACY AWARDS We were delighted to win the 2023 Best Supporter award at the National Advocacy Awards, after being nominated by three community groups we have supported. From over 80 nominations, in shortlisting BIHR, the panel noted, “the judges were impressed by three different organisations nominating BIHR - this level of impact across the community needed to be recognised and showcase the support BIHR is offering to the advocacy community.” Organisations that nominated BIHR said: "BIHR supported us to make a human rights challenge in the case of one of our members... they helped us challenge the care service and local authority. It led to a reversal in decision making!" (All Wales People First) AND "The BIHR project has been monumental in equipping our staff and volunteers to understand and implement the Human Rights Act in their day-to-day work in supporting women." (Hopscotch Women’s Centre) STRATEGIC AIM 3: IMPROVING PUBLIC SYSTEMS We have worked directly with several thousand people developing, delivering and managing public services across Great Britain. This included working with NHS Trusts and bodies, local authorities, city and county councils, national bodies, providers of social support, care and education providers, in England, Scotland and Wales, working in areas including children & adult social work and welfare; children’s inpatient mental health; community-led support; education, including SEND; forensic mental health; local and national commissioners; and mental health and social care support. STRATEGIC AIM 4: EXPERIENCE INFORMED POLICY WORK During 2023, BIHR’s policy work focused on the threat to the Human Rights Act presented by the Government’s actions to scrap the Act and replace it with a Bill of Rights, more aptly called a Rights Removal Bill. Whilst BIHR is not a campaign group, as a charity, the Board of Trustees authorised the use of non-partisan campaigning to secure the Human Rights Act, which is fundamental to BIHR achieving our charitable objectives. We have worked directly with over 1000 people engaged in our policy work during the year. SECURING OUR HUMAN RIGHTS ACT, PROTECTIONS & SYSTEM Jan 2023: MPs Question the Justice Secretary: through building relationships with MPs, focused on sharing real life stories of the impact of the HRA, we were able to see robust questioning of the Justice Secretary. Jan 2023: The Joint Committee on Human Rights legislative scrutiny report on the Bill of Rights: the JCHR took a range of evidence and engaged with civil society through surveys and questions, which BIHR encouraged CVS groups to respond to with their views on the HRA. BIHR submitted both our own evidence and supported our RITES Committee of Lived Experience Experts to submit their own evidence to the JCHR. The report’s analysis and conclusions chime very clearly with BIHR’s, with a key focus on both the legal technicalities and what these mean for people in their everyday lives. The JCHR delivered an unusually strong rejection of the Bill of Rights, with the final line reading “The Government should not progress the Bill in its current form through Parliament.” Both BIHR’s evidence, and the evidence of our RITES Committee were cited and quoted throughout the report. April 2023: Parliamentary joint action: Section 3 of the Human Rights Act is a key part of making human rights real every day, but the UK Government has attempted to get rid of it through three recent Bills. We led a group of 46 civil society organisations in writing to the Joint Committee on Human Rights to raise our concerns. The JCHR confirmed they were aware of the concerns, and would keep a watching brief of the issue, subsequently raising in in legislative scrutiny. Jan – June 2023: work with the Council of Europe investigation into the Bill of Rights Bill: In December 2022, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights said, “both the overall system for protecting human rights, and the rights of specific groups, are currently under pressure in the United Kingdom”. As part of the Council of Europe's investigation, our CEO was asked to give evidence to the Assembly Committee in Paris in Feb 2023, along with Baroness Hale. Subsequently, Kamal Jafarov, Human Rights Rapporteur, visited the UK to meet with parliamentarians, academics and civil society groups to gather further evidence on human rights reform in the UK. Our Head of Policy & Programmes joined representatives from JCWI, to discuss concerns with the Rights Removal Bill and the (then) Illegal Migration Bill, better called the Refugee Ban Bill, and the way they’ll impact people’s human rights across the UK. The Rapporteur’s report raised a number of concerns with the UK Government's proposed changes to human rights in the UK, reflecting a considerable number of BIHR’s points. March – July 2023: work on the Illegal Migration Bill: Introduced by the (then) Home secretary in March 2023, BIHR took the strategic decision to work on the Illegal Migration Bill. Whilst BIHR is not a migration organisation, it was important for us to include this in our policy work as the “Refugee Ban Bill” was a clear attempt to circumvent human rights protections in both the HRA and the ECHR. Ahead of the Second Reading of the Refugee Ban Bill, we created a "cheat sheet" to explain some of our initial concerns about the Bill and its implications for people in the UK, followed up with a detailed briefing outlining the HRA/ECHR concerns with the Bill, which was used extensively by civil society groups, parliamentarians and committees, and the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. BIHR’s RITES Committee in 2023 Our RITES Committee (standing for real-life insights, tips, experiences and stories) is made up of experts by experience who have used our Human Rights Act to achieve change – for themselves, the people they work with or their loved ones. The RITES Committee is funded through BIHR’s core funding. Too often those in power reduce our human rights to legal technicalities and procedural nuances – but human rights are about much more than that. Ultimately, our Human Rights Act is about people, and about giving people the power to hold the Government to account. With our RITES Committee, we show how the Act has done just that as we work to keep that power in the hands – and the voices – of people. 2023 marked the one year anniversary of our RITES Committee. We celebrated with a unique parliamentary event showcasing our members’ real life experiences of the Human Rights Act, so rarely heard by MPs and peers. The event was hosted by our trustee, Baroness Grey-Thompson, in the House of Lords, and Parliamentarians and civil society groups were invited to hear the experts talk, sharing a different story about the importance of the HRA for people in their everyday lives. Across 2023 we worked with our RITES Committee in accomplishing the following: Produced a series of videos on the cost of living crisis, how this links to human rights, and how the Human Rights Act can support people. These can each be viewed by clicking on the below thumbnails. Had their submission quoted by the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ legislative scrutiny report into the Bill of Rights Bill. Produced a conversational blog on why the principle of universality – that human rights are for everyone – is so important. Co-produced BIHR’s policy response to the Department for Health & Social Care’s consultation on visitation rights in hospitals, care home and hospices Save our Human Rights Act coalition: Throughout the year we continued our joint leadership of this important information sharing and collective space for over 200 groups across the UK. As well as being a member of the Steering Group and regularly chairing meetings, we have provided an upskilling session on the ECHR and Court, to enable members to understand both the technical detail and the impact. We’re also an active member of a number of networks, including the Civil Society Network, the Human Rights Consortium Scotland, Equally Ours and HEAR. These are important forums for the sharing of information, support, and collaboration. Human Rights Day 2023: Small places close to home On the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we coordinated over 75 organisations across the UK to come together to speak up for human rights, exemplifying the United Nations' call for a "shared movement of humanity" while empowering people to claim their rights. We issued a joint Open Letter to the Prime Minister and political leaders. The letter said: “This Human Rights Day, we celebrate having secured our Human Rights Act; we celebrate the UDHR. There is, however, much work to do in resisting the sustained attacks on universal human rights here at home. We are calling on all political leaders to reaffirm the commitment to universal human rights for all people, through both words and actions, nationally, in devolved nations, and in the small places close to home.” We worked with My Life My Choice to create an Easy Read version of the letter. Advocates from learning disability groups across the UK, including Learning Disability England and the Scottish Commission for Learning Disability, then collaborated on a video version of the letter. Our letter was shared across social media, and coverage included a comment piece from our CEO in Byline Times. The UK Government's Response: “Thank you for your letter of 8 December to the Prime Minister regarding Human Rights Day, and the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I have been asked to reply as the Minister with responsibility for human rights policy. The anniversary of such an important statement of our rights is indeed something to celebrate, and I can confirm that the Government takes seriously its responsibility to stand up for human rights and uphold the commitment to universal human rights for all people.” Lord Bellamy, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Ministry of Justice MAINSTREAMING THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT INTO WIDER POLICY Summer 2023 visiting rights in care homes, hospitals and hospices: As well as liaising with key organisations in the health and care sector, we submitted a consultation response to the Dept of Health and Social Care co-written with our Lived Experience Experts who contributed their direct experiences of visitation. We combined this with BIHR’s expertise on human rights law and our extensive work with individuals and staff in care homes and hospitals both pre- and post-pandemic to inform our submission. We said the UK Government needs to listen to lived experience voices in deciding whether further legislation is the solution. If so, this should also include listening to how such legislation should be designed, implemented and enforced to best ensure the human rights of those accessing care homes, hospitals and hospices and their loved ones are met in practice. Summer 2023 consultation on a new Human Rights Bill for Scotland: As a member of policy groups in Scotland, alongside our practical work there, we submitted a letter in response drawing on our experience of working with individuals, public bodies and policy-makers. We welcomed positive steps to build on the UK’s legal human rights protections with the Human Rights Act as a blueprint and a foundation. However, we also raised concerns about the long and complicated nature of the consultation that excluded many people from participating and meant that even legal experts struggled to respond. We therefore responded via letter that included real-life examples from our work. Sept – Dec 2023 experience informed research on DNARs for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman: Building on BIHR’s highly influential work during the pandemic, the Ombudsman commissioned BIHR to carry out research with people with learning disabilities into the use of Do No Attempt Resuscitation notices, and to put together a set of recommendations for improvement directly from people. This report will sit alongside the Ombudsman’s forthcoming reporting on the issue. We are incredibly proud of this piece of work, which will be published in 2024.

Political and charitable donations

As a charity we do not take political donations. All charitable donations are accounted for in our Financial Statements

Additional information

We have a full information for the purposes of Charity Commission reporting as well.



Directors

The directors shown below have held office during the whole of the period from
1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023

Sir Nicolas Bratza
Imran Khan KC
Mark Hilton
Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE
Stephen Pittam
Edith Prak
Joe Powell


Secretary Sanchita Hosali

The above report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions in part 15 of the Companies Act 2006

This report was approved by the board of directors on
11 June 2024

And signed on behalf of the board by:
Name: Sir Nicolas Bratza
Status: Director

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Balance sheet

As at 31 December 2023

Notes 2023 2022


£

£
Current assets
Debtors: 3 68,152 54,032
Cash at bank and in hand: 305,975 302,695
Total current assets: 374,127 356,727
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year: 4 ( 190,671 ) ( 182,560 )
Net current assets (liabilities): 183,456 174,167
Total assets less current liabilities: 183,456 174,167
Total net assets (liabilities): 183,456 174,167
Members' funds
Profit and loss account: 183,456 174,167
Total members' funds: 183,456 174,167

The notes form part of these financial statements

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Balance sheet statements

For the year ending 31 December 2023 the company was entitled to exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

These accounts have been prepared and delivered in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The directors have chosen not to file a copy of the company's profit and loss account.

This report was approved by the board of directors on 11 June 2024
and signed on behalf of the board by:

Name: Sir Nicolas Bratza
Status: Director

The notes form part of these financial statements

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Notes to the Financial Statements

for the Period Ended 31 December 2023

  • 1. Accounting policies

    Basis of measurement and preparation

    These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions of Section 1A (Small Entities) of Financial Reporting Standard 102

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Notes to the Financial Statements

for the Period Ended 31 December 2023

  • 2. Employees

    2023 2022
    Average number of employees during the period 10 10

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Notes to the Financial Statements

for the Period Ended 31 December 2023

3. Debtors

2023 2022
£ £
Other debtors 68,152 54,032
Total 68,152 54,032

THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Notes to the Financial Statements

for the Period Ended 31 December 2023

4. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year note

2023 2022
£ £
Other creditors 190,671 182,560
Total 190,671 182,560