Bah v United Kingdom (App No 56328/07) [2011] ECHR 1448, [2011] All ER (D) 134 (Sep)
It would be legitimate to put in place criteria according to which a benefit such as social housing could be allocated, where there was insufficient supply to satisfy demand, so long as criteria were not arbitrary or discriminatory. To be workable, any welfare system had to use broad categorisations to distinguish between different groups in need. Further, member states could be justified in distinguishing between different categories of aliens resident on its territory and in limiting the access of certain categories of aliens to resource-hungry public services. By bringing her son into the UK in full awareness of the condition attached to his leave to enter, the applicant had accepted that condition and had effectively agreed not to have recourse to public funds to support her son.
It was justifiable for the government to differentiate between those who relied for priority need status on a person who was in the UK unlawfully or on the condition that they had no recourse to public funds, and those who did not. The legislation
