THE UK Government’s austerity-driven clampdown on welfare was given a legal boost yesterday when the Appeal Court in London declared that the controversial benefit cap does not discriminate unlawfully against the lone parents of children under the age of two.

The matter is not finished yet, however, because the three Appeal Court judges split two to one on their verdict, with one judge agreeing with the findings last summer of Mr Justice Collins that the benefit cap was unlawful and discriminatory.

Given the split verdict and the background to the controversial case, the four lone parents involved have been given leave by the Appeal Court to make a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court, and their backers have indicated that the final appeal will be made.

Last June, Collins found in favour of the parents in their case against the Department for Work and Pensions. He said at the time: “The cap is capable of real damage to such as the claimants. They are not workshy but find it, because of the care difficulties, impossible to comply with the work requirement. Most lone parents with children under two are not the sort of households the cap was intended to cover ... Real misery is being caused to no good purpose.”

At a hearing last October, Clive Sheldon QC, a lawyer for the UK Government, argued that Collins had “made a number of serious errors”, and added “but for those errors, the claim would have been dismissed”.

He added that the judge had been “wrong and erred in law in determining on the evidence before him that the benefit cap unlawfully discriminated” against the claimants.

Sheldon claimed there was “no discriminatory impact and, in any event, any such impact would be justified”.

Responding to yesterday’s judgment, the chief executive of charity Shelter, Polly Neate, said: “The High Court initially ruled that the blanket application of the benefit cap to single parents with very young children is flawed and discriminatory – so we are hugely disappointed that an appeal by the DWP has been upheld, meaning the cap will remain.

“In reality, this cap hauls many single-parent families below the poverty line so they can’t even give their children basic necessities such as food and clothes, let alone pay for extras like school trips and birthday presents. It is a cruel, unnecessary, and ineffective way of achieving what the government claims is its aim of getting people into work.

“At Shelter, we frequently hear from lone parents who are facing homelessness because of the benefit cap. Many desperately want to work but can’t make up the required hours each week because jobs are low paid, insecure and temporary, while childcare is expensive.

“The judgment recognises the incredible hardship caused by the cap, so we urge the Government to listen to this and do the right thing by scrapping the cap immediately.

“While we are deeply unhappy with today’s outcome, we won’t give up – and this isn’t the end of our fight, as the cap has a devastating impact on children and families.

“We are now looking ahead to support a further legal challenge to this crippling benefit cap, which will be heard in the High Court later this month.”

Single parents charity Gingerbread, which also backed the four claimants, said it was “staggered” by yesterday’s judgment.

Policy officer Laura Dewar said: “In June, Mr Justice Collins con- cluded the policy was causing real misery ‘for no good purpose’.

“Gingerbread is staggered that the Court of Appeal has reached a different conclusion.

“The case will now move to the Supreme Court where we hope good sense prevails and the misery finally ends for single parents and their young children.”