Nursery World - Family wins victory over 'bedroom tax'

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that the Government has decided to drop the case against a man with two disabled daughters who had been denied extra housing benefit on the basis that his children should share a bedroom.

The DWP argued that the Mr Richard Gorry, who has three daughters, including two daughters who are disabled, should only receive housing benefit based on a three bedroom property. Mr Gorry appealed the decision stating that his children could not share rooms due to their additional needs. One of his daughters has spina bifida and the other has Down Syndrome.

The work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith applied to the Supreme Court to appeal the decision on 25 May 2012. However, he has decided that he will no longer be pursuing the appeal.

Mr Gorry was represented by children’s charity Child Poverty Action Group (CGAP).

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