The benefit cap and infliction of poverty

In R (DA and Others) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2019] UKSC 21 (hereinafter DA and Others) the Supreme Court considered whether the revised benefit cap under the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 unlawfully discriminates against lone parents and/or their young children, contrary to Articles 8, 14, and Article 1 of Protocol 1, of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and in breach of the UK’s international obligations under Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In a meticulously drafted majority judgment by Lord Wilson, the Court dismissed the appeal by a majority of 5-2, finding that the revised benefit cap was justified as it was not manifestly without reasonable foundation (MWRF). This case note will summarise the findings of the Supreme Court and ultimately raise the following question: can the infliction of poverty on individuals, in the way that the revised benefit cap does, ever be justified?