ABOUT 90 per cent of care homes can ignore the Human Rights Act, according to Help the Aged.

The law, which came into force in October 2000, gives residents of council-run homes the right to take cases of abuse and neglect to court.

But nine out of ten UK private care homes are run by businesses or charities.

In June last year, an 84-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease was evicted from a Southern Cross Limited home, prompting Help the Aged to campaign to change the law. Although the campaign gained the backing of the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, the House of Lords ruled in June against it, freeing all private care homes from the responsibilities.

Help the Aged and Age Concern hope the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on human rights will call for legislation to reverse the decision.

Help the Aged said that if the law was changed, it would stop elderly people in private care homes being:

* "Arbitrarily" evicted;

* Fed on a commode;

* Restrained or given medicine to keep them quiet;

The charity also believes it would force care providers to respect residents' privacy and give them appropriate treatment.