Supreme Court Rejects Appeal by Zambrano Carer Over Provision

The Supreme Court has this week rejected a claim that the denial of mainstream welfare and housing provision to a Zambrano carer and her child was unlawful. The claimant in R (on the application of HC) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and others [2017] UKSC 73 had argued that such a denial amounted to unlawful discrimination under article 21 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and/or under article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

It was common ground before the Supreme Court that Mrs HC was entitled to reside in the UK as the carer of her children, due to the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) in Zambrano v Office nationale de l’emploi (Case C-34/09) [2012] QB 265. In Zambrano, the CJEU held that an EU member state could not take measures in respect of a non-EU citizen who was the primary carer (a “Zambrano carer”) of an EU citizen, where those measures effectively deprived that dependent EU citizen of the genuine enjoyment of his or her rights under EU law. In response to the Zambrano decision, the UK government introduced regulations which amended legislation to preclude Zambrano carers from claiming various income-related benefits. Mrs HC challenged the legality of the Regulations.

Read more: Local Government Lawyer, http://bit.ly/2iuEKmd