Birmingham Law Centre Blog

Birmingham Law Centre has announced that Lord Hunt of Kings Heath will be its Patron. Lord Hunt has a long and distinguished career in Government and the public sector and is Chair of Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust. He spent 10 years in the last Government and served in Department of Health, Department for Work and Pensions, DEFRA, DECC and the Ministry of Justice where he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and Government spokesperson in the Ministry of Justice between 2007 and 2008. His final post was as Deputy Leader of the House of Lords and Minister for Energy.

Speaking of his appointment, Lord Hunt said: “The work that Birmingham Law Centre undertakes for our most vulnerable in society is vital. In challenging times, we must support those who need this help more than ever, and so I’m delighted to have been asked to become Patron to support their work and raise their profile across the City.”

He continued: “Law Centres transform people’s lives, helping them to stay in their homes, keep their families together and get into employment or education. The proposed Government cuts to Legal Aid will leave thousands more people with serious but everyday problems nowhere to turn to.”

Elizabeth Hensel, Chair of Birmingham Law Centre commented: “Lord Hunt brings not only vast experience within the public and voluntary sector, but will also enable us to raise our profile with those who support our work. We are entirely dependent on donations, grants, charitable and legal aid funding to continue our work with those who cannot afford to pay for advice. As the only Law Centre in Birmingham it is important we are able to secure a sustainable future.”

Ends

Notes for Editors:

Law Centres are not-for-profit legal practices providing free legal advice and representation to vulnerable and disadvantaged people. They are solicitor-led organisations that have rights of hearing and litigation in the highest courts and are members of the Law Centres Federation.

Birmingham Law Centre ( BLC) is one of 55 Law Centres in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, staffed by solicitors, caseworkers and in some cases barristers who specialise in areas of civil law including debt, employment, housing, discrimination, welfare benefits, education and immigration.

BLC provides in-depth legal advice and representation, including judicial review, on social welfare areas of law such as: welfare benefits, debt, community care, housing and employment discrimination. Last year, around 2,000 clients were helped and more than 3,500 hours of casework were undertaken.

For further information please call Pete Lowen, Chief Executive of the Birmingham Law Centre on or email:

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath was created a life peer in 1997. For further information please call or email:

Birmingham Law Centre successfully argues for Birmingham Social Security Tribunal to apply Zambrano principle to a claim for Income Support by a third country national.

Despite strong opposition by the Secretary of State, a First-tier Tribunal sitting in Birmingham allowed an appeal by our client who was a third country national and claiming Income Support as a lone parent based on a right to reside derived from her dependant daughter who is a British national and a citizen of the European Union within the principles established in Ruiz Zambrano v Office national de l’emploi (ONEm)(Case C-34/09) [2011] All ER (EC) 49 . The Tribunal rejected arguments advanced by Treasury counsel (Jason Coppell) that Zambrano had no application as it was concerned with a contributory-based unemployment benefit and that residence was a matter for the Home Office to determine.

The decision in more detail

In an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, we successfully represented our client in her application for Income Support. Our client is a Gambian national and has a two year old daughter by a British citizen father. She has overstayed her student visa and but for EU law she would be ineligible to claim main-stream benefits as someone subject to immigration control. The father’s involvement in our client’s daughter’s life was intermittent and spasmodic. Our client received benefits paid to children and some child support payments but her total income was less than 40% of the usual benefit levels. Out of this she had to pay rent of £250 per month, leaving her heavily in debt and gradually sinking into destitution. She had eaten only rice for each meal in the four days prior to the hearing. The tribunal held that:

‘[the appellant] is not excluded as a person subject to immigration control. She has a right to reside in the UK derived from her daughter’s status as a Union citizen and is habitually resident in the UK.’

‘[the appellant’s daughter] is unable to enjoy the substance of the rights conferred by [EU Citizen] status unless the appellant is able to provide financial, practical and emotional support for her in the UK.’

‘The appellant cannot provide this support for her daughter without receiving a non-contributory benefit (Income Support).’

This is a ground-breaking decision that, by virtue of Article 20 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), sees citizenship of the European Union conferred on the daughter stopping the UK government from refusing our client Income Support as it would have the effect of denying her daughter the genuine enjoyment of the substance of the rights conferred on her by EU law.

The tribunal have closely followed the case of Ruiz Zambrano v Office national de l’emploi (ONEm) and applied it to our client’s case. They agreed with us that it would be disproportionate to refuse to award our client Income Support if this had has the effect that her child would be forced (by economic pressure) to leave the territory of the EU as a whole . It is not yet known if the department will appeal.

Whilst the Income Support decision was pending, our client was refused a request for Interim Payments and a Crisis Loan. Both of these decisions were challenged by way of Judicial Review with the assistance of Desmond Rutledge of Garden Court Chambers. A matter of weeks before the tribunal hearing, a High Court Judge refused to grant permission saying that our client’s attempt to rely on Zambrano was ‘unarguable’. An oral renewal of the application for permission and interim relief is still pending – subject to whether the DWP decides to appeal the tribunal’s decision to the Upper Tribunal.

Comment

We believe that this decision represents a powerful extension of the principles established in Zambrano into the social security arena. It allows benefit entitlement to third country nationals who are the primary carers of UK citizen dependant children and, at last, there will have to be a focus on the rights of the child.

The tribunal’s Decision Notice itself, like the one in Zambrano , is simple and impressive and is available on request. Please email for a copy.

We would like to hear from practitioners with similar cases and are willing to offer help where we can. Please also contact us to refer clients in similar circumstances.

Michael Bates

December 2011

Link to Zambrano:

Ruiz Zambrano v Office national de l’emploi (ONEm)(Case C-34/09) [2011] All ER (EC) 49