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Social Security – Benefit. The claimants challenged the Government's introduction of a cap on welfare benefits on the basis that the Benefit Cap (Housing Benefit) Regulations 2012, SI 2012/2994, which had implemented the cap, discriminated unjustifiable between men and women, contrary to art 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and art 1 of the First Protocol to the Convention. The Divisional Court dismissed the claimants' judicial review challenge. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed their appeal. The Supreme Court, in dismissing the claimants' appeal, held that, giving due weight to the assessment of the Government and Parliament, the court was not persuaded that the Regulations were incompatible with art 14 of the Convention. The Regulations pursued legitimate aims and, as the question of proportionality involved controversial issues of social and economic policy, the determination of which was pre-eminently the function of democratically elected institutions, it was necessary for the court to give due weight to the considered assessment made by those institutions. It was unnecessary for the court to decide whether the question of whether there had been a breach of art 3(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Social Security – Benefit. The claimants challenged the Government's introduction of a cap on welfare benefits on the basis that the Benefit Cap (Housing Benefit) Regulations 2012, SI 2012/2994, which had implemented the cap, discriminated unjustifiable between men and women, contrary to art 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and art 1 of the First Protocol to the Convention. The Divisional Court dismissed the claimants' judicial review challenge. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed their appeal. The Supreme Court, in dismissing the claimants' appeal, held that, giving due weight to the assessment of the Government and Parliament, the court was not persuaded that the Regulations were incompatible with art 14 of the Convention. The Regulations pursued legitimate aims and, as the question of proportionality involved controversial issues of social and economic policy, the determination of which was pre-eminently the function of democratically elected institutions, it was necessary for the court to give due weight to the considered assessment made by those institutions. It was unnecessary for the court to decide whether the question of whether there had been a breach of art 3(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Update from the Chair of the Bar
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Save the Children UK is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
The Chief Legal Officer to the Metropolitan Police, barrister Brett Welch, tells Anthony Inglese CB about his mission and the work to turn the Met around
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Grok around and find out – or not? Mariya Peykova investigates the nudification scandal, what the law has to say about sexually explicit deepfakes, and whether stronger regulation is needed
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
For one night only at Middle Temple Hall (Sunday 26 July 2026) – Abigail Bright introduces the famed annual fundraising theatrical event. This year, Martin Shaw and Jason Watkins perform John Mortimer’s The Dock Brief, a mixture of farce and pathos and all in support of the work of the Kalisher Trust in its 30th year
