These figures are indicative of a legal and policy framework which does not offer stateless persons the opportunity to be granted leave to enter or remain, if appropriate, on the basis of their statelessness. The figures reflect the fact that the current law and policy in relation to entitlement to work, welfare benefits and other areas of public assistance fails to provide a sufficiently robust social safety net to ensure that stateless persons in the UK avoid homelessness and destitution. It indicates that, first of all, a procedure that is able to identify stateless persons and, where this is recognised, results in the grant of leave to enter or remain in appropriate cases would be the primary tool to avoid the risk of human rights breaches identified. Further, reforms to domestic law, policy or practice are required to ensure access to welfare benefits, asylum support and section 4 support for stateless persons. Entitlement to work should be considered in order to ensure that stateless persons are not at risk of destitution and street homelessness whilst a claim for recognition of their stateless status is being considered. These changes would help to alleviate the considerable risk that stateless persons face of human rights infringement linked to destitution. 5.4 Healthcare International law provides protections for stateless persons in respect of access to healthcare. Although the 1954 Convention does not make specific provision in respect of access to healthcare, Article 24 mandates state parties to accord stateless persons lawfully staying on the territory the same treatment as nationals in respect of social security. However, the UK entered a reservation against that article311 justified on the basis that the National Health Service (Amendment) Act 1949 gave a power for the government to make regulations that would limit access to the National Health Service only to those who are ordinarily resident in the UK. At the time the reservation was entered, no such regulations were made and the UK stated that it was “prepared in the future, as in the past, to give the most sympathetic consideration to the situation of stateless persons”.312 The reservation has not been withdrawn. However, as is described below, regulations limiting access to secondary healthcare have been made, and recently amended. International human rights law does make specific provision in respect of access to healthcare. Article 12 of the ICESCR obliges the UK to “recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”. Although this is a right that is subject to progressive realization, the treaty body that monitors compliance with the Convention has given guidance on the scope of this obligation. It has stated that “the right to health must be understood as a right to the enjoyment of a variety of facilities, goods, services and conditions necessary for the realisation of the highest attainable standard of health”.313 These entitlements include “timely and appropriate health care”.314 Such provision has to be accessible to those in the jurisdiction of the State. No discrimination is permitted on prohibited grounds in respect of access to healthcare, particularly in relation to vulnerable 102 311 “The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in respect of such of the matters referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 1 of Article 24 as fall within the scope of the National Health Service, can only undertake to apply provisions of that paragraph so far as the law allows.” See UNHCR, 1954 Convention: Signatories, Declarations and Reservations, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain/opendocpdf. pdf?reldoc=y&docid=4c0f4b1f2. 312 CESCR, General Comment No. 14, The Right to the highest attainable standard of health, para. 38, 11 Aug. 2000, E/C.12/2000/4, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4538838d0.html. 313 Ibid., para. 9. 314 Ibid., para. 11. Mapping statelessness