Charity and statutory powers to alleviate destitution

Most social and economic rights, as contained in the international human rights treaties, are not directly justiciable in the United Kingdom. Despite this, individuals may be able to enforce legal entitlements to the substance of some of those rights via domestic courts. In relation to those social and economic rights which relate to destitution, such enforcement is possible because the Westminster Parliament has legislated to imbue public authorities with a range of statutory powers which, when arising, require them to make provision to alleviate destitution. When these powers arise they form the basis for domestic statutory – as opposed to international human – rights to the substance of a range of social and economic rights. These powers may thus satisfy the international obligations flowing from some social and economic rights.<br/><br/>However, it is common in the practice of public authorities, and now well-accepted in the case law stemming from the judicial review of this practice, to hold that individuals who can access necessities such as shelter via charity are not destitute. Accordingly, the statutory powers to alleviate destitution do not arise. In this way, the availability of charity serves a gatekeeping function which limits legal entitlements and prevents statutory powers from arising. This is despite the fact that reliance on charity to meet basic needs has been central to historical understandings of destitution. Thus, there is a mismatch between how destitution is understood ordinarily and how it is understood in the context of these statutory regimes. Resultingly, legal entitlements to alleviate destitution are not available to all of those who may be eligible for support under these statutory regimes and experience destitution in practice. This contribution examines the consequences of this through focusing on the relationship between charity and statutory powers to alleviate destitution. It illustrates how charity displaces statutory entitlements and further that the legislative framework underpinning, and the standard of review of, these powers allow public authorities to elide obligations which would otherwise arise if not for charity.<br/>