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Burnip - and disabled adults
Given that the SS appeal against Burnip has now been dropped - is there a chance that it can be used to argue for an additional bedroom for disabled adult, where either they cannot share with their partner due to overnight care needs or where they need a room for medical equipment?
The way I read the case, it applies to disabled people no matter what their age.
That’s how I read it too: in two of the Burnip cases the appellant was relying on his/her own adult disability. It would be a misreading of Burnip to say that it has established an exhaustive liost of people whose human rights are violated by the size criteria. Others with different but equally compelling reasons for needing more bedrooms could just as easily have succeeded.
I am not convinced that Burnip is authority for actually awarding more benefit at LA level though - the court granted declaratory relief and called on the Secretary of State to put things right. The Secretary of State is ducking that responsibility and trying to land Councils with the job of deciding who does and doesn’t meet the criteria. By abandoning the appeal but leaving the Regs as they are the Secretary of State has created a mess that needs sorting out at Government level.
The Govt and DWP are essentially now making this up as they go along. There is no legal basis for what they are now instructing local authorities to do with regard to families with “severely disabled” (undefined) children. What do they expect is going to happen when the appeals/legal challenges start coming in, either to a decision that a child is not disabled enough to require a separate bedroom, or that adult couples cannot get the same consideration? The government was told by the Court of Appeal to change the law - now months later they think they can just drop councils in it.
Given that the SS appeal against Burnip has now been dropped - is there a chance that it can be used to argue for an additional bedroom for disabled adult, where either they cannot share with their partner due to overnight care needs or where they need a room for medical equipment?
The way I read the case, it applies to disabled people no matter what their age.
I would agree that the principle established in Burnip should apply equally to disabled adults as well as to disabled children.
There’s no reason why Burnip could not be cited in support of a bedroom tax appeal by a disabled adult seeking to establish a need for a separate bedroom.
This aspect of the bedroom tax is currently also the subject of JR action though - see
http://wearespartacus.org.uk/disabled-mount-legal-challenge-bedroom-tax/