Following a multi-year review of the UK including an in person review in Geneva last month, the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Committee) has released its report on the seventh periodic review of the United Kingdom, known as the ‘concluding observations’.

In the most detailed set of observations the Committee has ever presented to the UK, around 90 recommendations were made. In this blog, we’ll look at some of the topics and themes that stood out.

The current UK Government continues to make choices which undermine people’s rights

The review process began in May 2022. In July 2024 the party forming the UK Government changed from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party.

As highlighted in the submission we sent to the Committee in January 2025 on behalf of civil society in England, in many areas rights protections have continued to degrade since the new UK Government was elected. The Committee understood this, and there are multiple instances throughout the concluding observations where the current administration’s efforts are held to account and found to be falling short. 

Austerity

The UK Government received a serious rebuke for failing to provide the information the Committee requested following its last review in 2016 – a cumulative impact assessment of austerity. The Committee has now once again made this request. The fact that it had to be repeated and has been elevated to one of three priority issues for the Committee not only highlights the urgency of the situation but also the lack of sufficient action by both current and previous UK Governments.

Welfare reform

Like austerity, the Committee highlighted welfare reform as a key priority issue and has called on the UK Government to reverse policies that we know cause particular hardship – the two-child limit, the benefit cap, and the five week-delay for the first Universal Credit payment.

More generally, on social security, the Committee is not mincing its words – bluntly telling the UK Government to, “increase its budget for social security.” Quite simply, the numbers do not add up, and the UK Government must spend more to ensure the right to social security is met.

The impact of voices on the Committee

These international monitoring mechanisms are only useful if they actually reflect people’s lived realities. The Committee was fortunate to hear from a number of people with lived experience of economic, social and cultural rights violations who travelled to Geneva to speak to the Committee about how rights are experienced in people’s lives in the UK. It seems these voices had real impact, and the Committee has listened to them carefully. This is in addition to reviewing in detail the 72 written submissions received from UK civil society (a record number!).

The reality for many in the UK: disproportionate impact, regional variation and a gap between law and practice

The Committee took note of the disproportionate impact of multiple rights violations for certain groups, and that they face them on a repeated basis.

The Committee named these groups to enable greater accountability: disabled people, Gypsy, Roma and Travellers, migrants, refugees, those seeking asylum, LGBTI+ people, low-income families, people in precarious employment, children, female-headed households, those living in remote areas, and people belonging to ethnic, religious or other minorities. The Committee is calling for targeted action here, and recognising the UK is a place where rights are not equally enjoyed.

The concluding observations also recognise that rights aren’t enjoyed equally across the UK in another way – highlighting regional and geographic variations in relation to child poverty, wage inequality, educational attainment, and access to housing.

All too often, even when laws exist, the people who need their protection cannot access them. The difference between ‘law’ and ‘practice’ was something the Committee remarked upon in relation to those in precarious employment, the rights of migrant workers, and health coverage – all areas where the law may state one thing, but the ability of some groups to access those laws is deeply hindered. This is an important recognition by the Committee and takes us to a place where the UK Government is being held to account for people’s actual experiences.

Bringing rights into UK law

Incorporation – that is bringing these rights into domestic law in the UK – is something the Committee has often called for in the past, but this time they have gone further – including calling for,

“an independent review of the legal and policy framework for economic, social and cultural rights”.

The inclusion of this action point is a clear indication that the Committee wants to see movement in this area.

New issues

The review also included a whole host of really important issues for the first time – including the violation of the economic, social and cultural rights of LGBTI+ people, climate change, the No Recourse to Public Funds condition, the issue of adequate clothing as an element of poverty in the UK, bullying and violence, international financial institutions, social partners and institutionalisation.

All these new areas provide new advocacy avenues and reflect a Committee that is increasingly aware of the root causes of rights violations, and the wide impact of economic, social and cultural rights violations.

Our work on the review

We were pleased to work with, convene and support the input of a wide range of civil society groups and individuals into this whole process, and have seen the evidence of this across the board. 

As a result of our co-ordination as chair of the UK ESCR Network, the Committee:

• received the highest volume of submissions of evidence it has ever received
• considered many new issues, raised in our and other submissions
• focused on the importance of people’s experience of rights violations
• made interventions which reflected points made in our written submission
• expressed appreciation and gratitude for our co-ordination and support

“ We were very impressed with the UK ESCR Network on several levels, not only with the quality of the information that helped us to understand the critical ESCR issues, the wonderful coordination of the CSOs and individuals working in these areas, but also with the way in which the voices of people with lived experience were widely heard.” Committee member

We are really proud of the help we were able to provide to help civil society navigate this review. Some feedback we’ve had:

• “Just Fair answered any questions or concerns I had in making the submission. I think I would have struggled to navigate the process without you – thank you!”
• “The information and guidance you circulated was timely, informative and highly professional.”
• “The whole CESCR process is very opaque and confusing. Just Fair’s guidance was hugely welcome.”

What happens next?

There are so many more important issues that we don’t have space to cover here. In the coming months we’ll be working on:

• Analysing the concluding observations more deeply.
• Working together as the UK ESCR Network to review the concluding observations and develop a joint understanding of what effective action on them looks like.
• Following up with our National Human Rights Institutions, the Ministry of Justice and various UK Parliamentarians and committees.
• Ensuring those with lived experience continue to be a part of this work.
• Following up in the devolved nations and jurisdictions.

To join us in taking action, sign up to the UK ESCR Network today.