BASW responds to UN report on UK poverty

Austerity is clearly shown as a political choice that needs countering

BASW has responded to the publication this week of a report on poverty in the UK that was commissioned by the UN.

The author of the report, special rapporteur Professor Philip Alston said "ideological" cuts to public services since 2010 have led to "tragic consequences", and that the UK's social safety net has been "deliberately removed and replaced with a harsh and uncaring ethos".

Prof Alston is an independent expert in human rights law and was appointed to the unpaid role by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2014. He visited UK towns and cities over a two-week period last November and received more than 300 written submissions to compile the report, which is available to read here.  

Chair of BASW’s Policy, Ethics and Human Rights (PEHR) Committee, Richard Servian, said: “Philip Alston is to be heavily thanked for this brave, accurate and timely report. He rightly shows government policy as leading to extreme poverty in many parts of the UK. Austerity is clearly shown as a political choice that needs countering.”