Impact of the Human Rights Act : a Survey of Local Authorities and Travellers, 2001-2002

The research study aimed to examine how the introduction of human rights legislation <br> has impacted upon the way that local authorities approach their duties and provide <br> services, in the necessary move from a duty-based to right-based consciousness and <br> the potential changes that might come about in the measurement of such service <br> delivery, encompassing human as well as monetary costs. <br> <br> The study's objectives were to: examine, as a case study to test this thinking, the <br> changing nature of the relationship between local authorities, travelling people and the <br> law; collect, from travelling people, information to enable an examination of human <br> rights awareness that can be factored in to an analysis of the approach to 'best value' <br> and the respect of rights; produce a report which can assist and encourage local <br> authorities to build human rights and best value approaches in to their activities; and <br> which can assist local authorities in developing new pro-rights and anti-exclusion <br> strategies while serving best value principles.<br>