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Judges reject benefit cap legal challenge (6 November 2013)

Date: 06/11/2013
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Judges reject benefit cap legal challenge

Senior judges have rejected a legal challenge by three single mothers and their children against the government's benefit cap policy that imposes a £500 weekly limit on benefits for lone parents that do not qualify for working tax credit.

The regulations were introduced earlier this year by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith across the United Kingdom but were deemed unfair by some critics and led family lawyers for three affected families in the London area to argue that it “discriminates against children and women”, in particular those that have suffered domestic violence.

The legal challenge drew support from both the Women's Aid Federation and the Child Poverty Action Group, as they believed it breached the European Convention on Human Rights. Lawyers also said the three women feared it would “leave them destitute.”

High court judges, who surmised that though the cap might be “too parsimonious”, rejected this notion, it cannot be certified that it “is so manifestly unfair or disproportionate as to justify interference by the courts.”

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “We are very pleased that the court has ruled that the benefit cap complies with the European Convention on Human Rights. The benefit cap sets a fair limit to what people can expect to get from the welfare system, so that claimants cannot receive more than £500 a week, the average household earnings.”

Duncan Lewis is a specialist civil liberties practice, providing the highest level of expertise in areas of law such as Childcare, Housing, Community Care and Family matters.

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