Scottish Human Rights Law Group

Contribution by Zoe Picton-Howell

In this Scottish case, an application by a father acting on behalf of his young child with disabilities and serious health problems, for judicial review of section 73 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, as being incompatible with provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights was rejected by the Court of Sessions. The Court rejected the father’s argument that in only allowing the mobility component of disability allowance to be paid only on behalf of children over the age of three years old, the UK Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 breached the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the opinion of Lord Brodie:-

“the court, in determining whether the statute is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, must recognise that while its role is to safeguard rights that role does not extend to review of what are essentially policy choices. Here Parliament, with the benefit of appropriate expert advice, has fixed the lower age limit for entitlement to the mobility component of DLA at three years. Having regard to what was advanced by the respondent in justification, I cannot say that that was an irrational decision or that it was in pursuit of an illegitimate aim or that it was disproportionate in its effect. I do not find it be incompatible with article 14, or any other provision, of the Convention.”

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