Refugee Action's case against the Government which argued that the amount paid to destitute asylum seekers is unlawful because it is insufficient to meet their essential living needs or to provide a dignified standard of living was heard on 11 to 13 February 2014. On the 9 April, Mr Justice Popplewell handed down his judgement. In a landmark decision, the judge stated that the Secretary of State’s decision to freeze the rates of support for asylum seekers was ‘flawed’ and that: “She [Secretary of State for the Home Department] failed to take reasonable steps to gather sufficient information to enable her to make a rational judgment in setting the asylum support rates for 2013/2014.”