Lord Pannick (CB)

My Lords, I join with the noble Baroness, Lady Watkins, in welcoming government Amendment 12, which says: “A registered care provider is to be regarded for the purposes of section 6(3)(b) of the Human Rights Act 1998 as exercising a function of a public nature in providing any of the services mentioned”. I am particularly pleased to see that the Government and the other place accepted this point, because it reverses the effect of a decision of the Appellate Committee of this House in 2008, YL v Birmingham City Council, in which I was the unsuccessful counsel for the unfortunate applicant. At the time, I took comfort from the fact that, of the five members of the Appellate Committee, the two who dissented in favour of my client were the noble and learned Lord, Lord Bingham of Cornhill, and the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Hale, and I am very pleased that their approach has now been accepted by Parliament. The point was summarised by the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Hale. She said that it is a function of a public nature for the purposes of the Human Rights Act when the function is performed pursuant to statutory arrangements, when it is performed at public expense and when it is performed in the public interest. It has taken 17 years, but the law has got there in the end.