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The UK government is facing a challenge in court from two anonymous mothers who are arguing that the Universal Credit (UC) two-child benefit policy is discriminatory. The policy caps awards, so that parents cannot claim UC or child tax credits for a third child. The women say that they had two or more children non-consensually when they were teenagers, followed by more children willingly later in life. They argue that the so-called “rape clause” exception for additional financial support cannot easily be applied to them because their first two children were the product of rape.
The women are being represented by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). Claire Hall, the charity’s head of strategic litigation, said the policy was “discriminatory and irrational”. She argued that the women should be entitled to the exemption for the children born of rape, irrespective of when they were born. The two women have missed out on thousands of pounds of support because of the cap, according to CPAG.
One of the women, known only as LMN, has already taking legal action against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and has received benefits for her third child. The other woman, known as EFG, has not yet received any such support. CPAG says that this woman, like LMN, is entitled to the rape clause exception if it were applied fairly.
The case is due to take place in the High Court next year. The two-child cap was implemented in April 2017 and has been contested by campaigners against poverty. In 2023, Keir Starmer, then leader of the Labour opposition, argued that his party would not alter the two-child cap and would not provide extra benefits without first boosting the economy. In the past, campaigners challenged the cap in the Supreme Court, but their case was dismissed in 2021 on human rights grounds
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