Time for Workfare objectors to get cash back

The judges who made the ruling were clear that there is nothing wrong with the principle of asking benefit claimants to undertake some kind of work in return for money from the taxpayer.

Furthermore it rejected the idea that government schemes are an infringement of individuals' human rights.

But they did find that the regulations that determined how some of the schemes work in 2011 were not up to scratch and therefore the schemes were unlawful.

At this time government lawyers are appealing the decision and working tirelessly to rewrite the rules. It will be some time before it's possible to confirm that their efforts are sufficient in halting an embarrassing and expensive trail of benefits claimants trying to get cash back.

At the very least, this case does not particularly inspire confidence in the government department trying to drive through some of the coalition's largest reforms.

Daniel Pitt

Mountain Ash