A legal fight to hand around 2million sick and disabled people £1,500 in backdated benefits has been rejected by the High Court.
Four claimants brought a landmark challenge against the decision to leave “legacy benefits” out of the £20-a-week Covid rise in Universal Credit, which lasted 18 months before ending in October.
Most of those left out were on Employment and Support Allowance - which is paid for being sick or disabled, leading to furious claims of a "two-tier" welfare system.
But a High Court judge ruled the policy was not unlawful discrimination that breached the European Convention on Human Rights.
Mr Justice Swift admitted legacy benefits were "low", and "it is obvious that any person required to rely only on that level of income will suffer hardship".
But he said the "difference in treatment" between Universal Credit and legacy claimants was "justified", because it was aimed at people who suddenly lost their job due to Covid.
The four claimants' solicitor William Ford, of Osbornes Law, said: “We are extremely disappointed by today’s judgment and will study it carefully to assess whether there are any grounds to appeal.
"The court’s decision is a devastating blow to more than two million people who we consider were unjustly deprived of the £20 uplift given to those who receive Universal Credit during the pandemic.
"It is deeply unfair that those on so called legacy benefits should be discriminated against in this way.”
Anela Anwar of welfare rights group Z2K said: “It is immensely disappointing to see this challenge dismissed, especially given that the court accepted there had been discrimination against disabled people in DWP’s approach.
“The cost-of-living crisis is not going away, and benefit levels remain totally inadequate."
Anastasia Berry of the MS Society, who co-chairs the Disability Benefits Consortium, said it was a "colossal blow" to 2.2million people.
"The government has found a legal technicality to temporarily duck responsibility," she said. "The basic fact remains that it stood idly by while many disabled people were forced deeper into poverty during the pandemic."
She said Tory ministers were now "heaping insult on injury" by raising benefits by 3.1% in April, around half the inflation rate.
One of the four claimants, 41-year-old Phil Wayland from Rochford, Essex, told the Mirror in November the government’s behaviour had been “inhuman”.
Mr Wayland, who has claimed ESA since 2010 for depression and anxiety, said before the hearing: "I had just had enough of seeing the rise in food banks and seeing how a couple of million disabled people, the most vulnerable, have been deliberately ignored.”
Today he added: "I am extremely disappointed with the judge’s decision."
The four claimants were on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Income Support and Jobseekers’ Allowance.
Their lawyers claimed that if their judicial review was successful, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) could be forced to make back payments to those hit.
The case was backed by the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) - a network of over 100 organisations including Z2K, the MS Society, MND Association, and Leonard Cheshire - as well as Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC).
But Mr Justice Smith ruled: “The increase to the standard allowance was a way of providing additional support to those who did lose jobs or income because of the pandemic and became reliant on Universal Credit for the first time.
“This group would face particular disruption.
“The increase was intended to cushion the sudden impact of loss of employment or reduced employment.
“I accept this was legitimate objective.”
He added: “New benefits claimants would need to adjust to a loss in income. They would be affected differently to persons already claiming benefits."
The judge accepted that the £20-a-week also helped millions of Universal Credit claimants who were already on the benefit, but said this did not change his view of the law.
The court had heard the exclusion was a "radical departure" from decades of benefits policy "with almost no democratic scrutiny and limited analysis of the consequences".
Lawyers argued the DWP’s excuse that it could not raise legacy benefits overnight due to more complex computer systems was not “justified”.
Shadow Minister for Disabled People Vicky Foxcroft said: "Conservative ministers' decision to not extend the £20 uplift to people on legacy benefits was unjust. It was a choice that hit disabled people the hardest when they needed support the most.
"Shockingly, there are now over one million more disabled people living in poverty than in 2010. But the Tories continue to ignore the struggle they face with the cost of living crisis Boris Johnson's government has created.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “We welcome that the Court found in our favour. The temporary £20 uplift for Universal Credit claimants ensured vital support was given to those facing the most financial disruption due to the pandemic.”
