A/HRC/41/39/Add.1 2018. 55 The collapse of this vital resource has apparently been of little concern to the Government, which decentralized responsibility for the funds and does not collect any information on what has become of them. D. Privatization 44. The United Kingdom was a pioneer in privatizing previously public services across a wide range of sectors. In 2018, the National Audit Office concluded that the private finance initiative model had proved to be more expensive and less efficient than public financing in providing hospitals, schools and other public infrastructure. 56 Studies of the results of privatization in sectors such as water, energy and public transportation suggest that prices have been raised excessively while access for low-income households has been restricted and capital investments have been inadequate. One study concludes that “private providers of basic services are creating structures for sweating capital assets and extracting revenue at the expense of households”.57 45. The Special Rapporteur heard a great many complaints from people in rural areas that the privatization and deregulation of public transport outside London had made trains unaffordable and led to many bus routes being cut. The resulting isolation and inability to afford basic transport had serious negative consequences in terms of access to jobs, schools, health care and community engagement. Local authorities have often simply abandoned their responsibilities by relegating key services to the private sector and failing to take any regulatory measures to ensure basic service provision. Abandoning people to the private market in relation to services that affect every dimension of their basic well-being, without guaranteeing their access to minimum standards, is incompatible with human rights requirements. VI. Shortcomings of Universal Credit 46. Social support should be a route out of poverty, and Universal Credit (UC) should be a key part of that process. Consolidating six different benefits into one makes good sense, in principle. But many aspects of the design and ongoing roll-out of the programme raise grave concerns about the adequacy of the country’s flagship benefits programme. 47. The Special Rapporteur heard countless stories of severe hardships suffered under UC. These reports are corroborated by an increasing body of research that suggests UC is being implemented in ways that negatively impact claimants’ mental health, finances and work prospects.58 Where UC has fully rolled out, food bank demand has increased,59 a link belatedly acknowledged by the Work and Pensions Secretary in February 2019.60 48. Local authorities, devolved administrations and the voluntary sector described their preparations for the roll out of UC as if they were preparing for an impending natural disaster or health epidemic. They have expended significant money and energy to protect people from what is supposed to be a support system. 55 56 57 58 59 60 Fitzpatrick, Destitution in the UK 2018, p. 9. See National Audit Office, PF1 and PF2, report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (2018). Kate Bayliss and Giulio Mattioli, “Privatisation, inequality and poverty in the UK: briefing prepared for UN Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights”, Sustainability Research Institute, December 2018. See, e.g., Joseph Rowntree Foundation, “Briefing: where next for Universal Credit and tackling poverty?”, 2019. The Trussell Trust, “The next stage of Universal Credit: moving onto the new benefit system and foodbank use”, 2018, p. 10. Parliament, “Oral answers to questions”, 11 February 2019, vol. 654. 11