Court of Appeal gives mothers permission to appeal High Court decision on two-child limit ‘rape clause’

Note: anonymity orders and reporting restrictions are in place in relation to the claimants and their children in this case  

Two mothers have been granted permission to appeal against a High Court decision on the rules on an exception to the two-child limit in universal credit (UC).  

In July the High Court rejected the mother’s legal challenge to the rules. But in the Court of Appeal yesterday Lord Justice Lewis gave the go-ahead for an appeal against the High Court decision and said the appeal ”… raises important issues of principle concerning the regulations …”  

The case was brought by two mothers who each conceived two or more children non-consensually while in abusive relationships that started when they were teenagers. One of the mothers later had two more children consensually in a long-term relationship, while the other struggled to manage on universal credit support for only two of three children living with her after an older child was returned to her from local authority care.  

The mothers weren’t able to rely on the non-consensual conception exception to the two-child limit because under the current rules this exception is only applied for third or subsequent children.1 The mothers argue that the rules on this exception to the two-child limit breach their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and are irrational.    

Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) represented the women who are known to the court as ‘EFG’ and ‘LMN’.  

Responding to the Court of Appeal’s decision to grant permission to appeal, ‘EFG’ said:  

The government has the chance to do the right thing on the two-child limit but this latest decision gives me hope that the court will recognise that the rules are unfair.  I’m going to keep going until there is a result that brings justice for families like mine.   

The mother known as ‘LMN’ said:  

I’ve been waiting so long already but I want to take it as far as I can. It’s against the kids’ human rights. They’ve missed out and not had the chance to do stuff and I’ve had to live with debt hanging over me on top of everything else.  I’m still dealing with everything that happened to me and with my anxiety and depression and PTSD it’s hard to get a job.  

Child Poverty Action Group solicitor Claire Hall said: 

For as long as the two-child limit is in place there will be women who manage to survive rape and domestic abuse only to be forced to jump through retraumatising hoops to try to get support they need for their children, whether or not they ultimately secure it.   We welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to allow these mothers to take their case further.  Their experiences should bring home the need for government to remove the two-child limit entirely in its forthcoming child poverty strategy.  

Notes to Editors:  

Anonymity orders and reporting restrictions are in place for the two claimants and their children. Pursuant to s.11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, there must be no publication of the identity of either Claimant or of any matter likely to lead to their identification in any report of, or otherwise in connection with, these proceedings. The claimants must be referred to orally and in writing, in place of their names, as LMN and EFG 

• Yesterday’s Court of Appeal’s order
• The earlier High Court judgment 

More information on the case is HERE and HERE    

The two-child limit denies the child element of universal credit and tax credits worth up to £3,514 per year to third or subsequent children born after April 2017.  

Exceptions can be applied for a third or subsequent child likely to have been conceived as a result of non-consensual sex or at a time when the woman was in an abusive relationship, under ongoing control or coercion by the other biological parent. Women cannot claim this exception if they live with the other biological parent of the child. To claim an exception women must complete an official form with the help of an approved third-party professional who must give supporting information showing the applicant’s circumstances meet the conditions for an exception. Approved third-party professionals include healthcare professionals, social workers and specific organisations such as rape crisis centres.  

CPAG press office:  07816 909302.   Neither of the mothers will be giving media interviews.