A DWP bid to overturn a ruling that the hated Bedroom Tax discriminates against victims of domestic violence has been denied.

Judges at the European Court of Human Rights ruled in October that the benefit cut discriminated against a domestic violence victim who was forced to pay extra for her panic room.

Lawyers for the Department for Work and Pensions demanded the case be heard in the court’s Grand Chamber – seeking to overturn the ruling.

But the request was rejected – meaning the ruling stands and is final.

The victim’s legal team are now calling for the government to make changes to the law immediately.

They say almost 300 more victims of domestic violence are in the same situation.

“She is a vulnerable single parent who has been a victim of rape and assault, and she lives in a property which has been specially adapted by the police, at great expense, to protect her and her child.

“She has had to fight the UK Government for seven years to protect her right to be safe in her own home.

“She is delighted that after such a long battle, the European Court of Human Rights has recognised the impact that the bedroom tax is having on her and others like her, and the Grand Chamber has refused the UK Government’s last-ditch attempt to appeal this finding.
She added: “We now call on the UK Government to take swift action and to change the rules to exempt from the bedroom tax the small but extremely vulnerable class of women and children who need the safety of a sanctuary scheme whilst they try to rebuild their lives after surviving domestic violence.
“The Domestic Abuse Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, is the obvious route to correct this injustice and protect A and others in Sanctuary Scheme homes.”