Legal protection against destitution in the UK

Lunchtime Seminar exploring recent research by Ulster University academics looking at 'Legal protection against destitution in the UK: the case for a right to a subsistence minimum.'

In 2019 it was estimated that at least 2.4 million UK residents experienced destitution – that is, they were unable to meet their most basic needs for shelter, food, heat, light, clothing and hygiene from their own resources for themselves.

In new research on this subject, academics at Ulster University take a look behind this headline to consider the impact of destitution on people’s human rights and explore the extent to which the persistence of extreme poverty in a modern welfare state ought to be regarded as a failure of human rights protection.

Join us for a lunch time seminar to hear about the details of this research from the three authors of the report and discuss what relevance it has to ongoing debates about existing human rights standards in the context of a Cost of Living Crisis.

Speakers

• Gráinne McKeever, Professor of Law and Social Justice, School of Law, Ulster University
• Mark Simpson, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, Ulster University
• Ciara Fitzpatrick, Lecturer,School of Law,Ulster University