Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

This has been an interesting debate. The amendments seek to ensure that all children and young persons are publicly funded where the court is considering opposing a youth rehabilitation order. The case has been argued with great force that there should be automatic funding, but I have to say that the Government would resist that. We believe that the existing arrangements for the provision of legal representation already provide sufficient safeguards for young defendants. I want to reflect in part the words of the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland. Under the Access to Justice Act 1999, all defendants must satisfy the interests of justice test in order to qualify for publicly funded representation. In deciding this, the court takes into account, among other factors, whether the defendant may suffer serious damage to his or her reputation or whether the charge is punishable with imprisonment. The court also gives consideration to whether the defendant is of a young age and to their ability to understand the proceedings or to state their own case. As the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, pointed out, since October 2006, defendants appearing before the magistrates’ court and youth court have also been required to pass a financial eligibility test to qualify for publicly funded representation, but from November 2007, all defendants under the age of 18 have been passported through the means test. That change has been widely welcomed by the professional judiciary and the Law Society. In practical terms, it will be extremely rare for a young person not to pass the interests of justice test. Indeed, the figures from January to December 2007 show that 95,000 legal aid applications were made, of which 1,598—1.7 per cent—failed the test. It is a small figure. Given his argument, the noble Earl will damn me if I do and damn me if I do not. I accept that it can be argued either way, but at least I have given him the straight figures.