Single mothers lose legal challenge to benefit cap

Three single mothers and their children have lost a legal challenge to the government's benefit cap.

Judges ruled that regulations brought in by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith were lawful and did not breach human rights.

The £500-a-week cap affects housing benefit, child benefit and child tax credit for families not working enough hours to get working tax credit.

The government said it was "very pleased" at the High Court's ruling.

The cap, introduced in July in England, Scotland and Wales, is set at the same level for couples or single parents.

'Policy issue'
Lawyers acting for three mothers and one child from each family, all from the London area, said the "cruel and arbitrary" measure was "reminiscent of the days of the workhouse", and the women feared it would leave them destitute.

They argued the cap unlawfully breached the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to respect for home and family life.

The legal challenge was supported by the Child Poverty Action Group and the Women's Aid Federation.

Dismissing their claim for judicial review, Lord Justice Elias and Mr Justice Bean said that no doubt many considered the cap to be "too parsimonious".

They ruled: "But that is ultimately a policy issue, and for the reasons we have given we do not think it can be said that the scheme is so manifestly unfair or disproportionate as to justify an interference by the courts."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman 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."

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Hopefully this will slow down the baby makers and make them get a job instead of scavaging off this country.

Many who work in London receive a 'London weighting' which gives them more pay over their comparable colleagues out in the sticks. I would have thought that if they want to have people to carry out more menial tasks in the city they need to live there. I would have thought that there is housing at a relevant rent to allow this. There is also the case for mothers to care for their children until they start school; but would this encourage a continual flow of babies among the feckless. It comes back to flexible rented accommodation in the city for those who work.

What we want and what we get are rarely going to coincide.

Very true
It is a problem that some get too comfortable and don't go back to work and as you put it Moonstar, feckless

its weird the uk, really it is, if you go to other countries round the world its really hard to explain the reasons why people get free money for not working or pumping out kids....
although I don't fall for the daily mail type rhetoric of the unemployed are evil and taking all our GDP, its pensions, saying that people don't want them taken away aswell....
its always the british standard to bleet "but theres no jobs!" its the govs fault !!!" all that is just as boring and has no play with me...
if you want to work youll find a way.....
to be honest im glad they lost theres no way the gov would let it go and lose, no way
too many people would get on the compo band wagon.

They are now really getting strict on benefits and now its the jobseekers allowance is getting suspended Its hit Wales allready.Once this universeal credit comes into force more will be caught out.Its meant to give poeple incentive to get back into work and i mean work not just 2 or 3 hours a week or each day.Its not a case of comfortable or dont want to go back to work.Its more of a responsibilty to get out and work and support your family.And not live off benefits.