Coroners and Justice Bill

My Lords, these amendments would extend the scope of the community legal service in England and Wales to cover advocacy at inquests into deaths of military service personnel who die on active service. They would also put the Legal Services Commission’s ability to fund inquests into deaths in state custody and inquests into deaths that occurred in the course of a police action or arrest on a statutory footing. The amendments cover only advocacy because legal advice and assistance under the legal help scheme is already available. Currently, legal aid for advocacy at inquests into the deaths of military personnel on active service is outside the ordinary scope of civil legal aid, but it is nevertheless available under the exceptional funding procedure and is granted, sadly, on a regular basis. The current procedure requires that applications are considered by the Legal Services Commission and Ministers before they can be granted. The amendments would bring these inquests within the ordinary scope of civil legal aid for the first time. The practical effect of the amendments will be to simplify and speed up the application process as Ministers will not need to approve individual applications before funding can be granted. Funding for inquests into deaths in custody and inquests into deaths that occurred in the course of a police action or arrest is already in scope, but the amendments put that on a statutory footing. This change is intended to provide funding for a legal representative for a family or families, but not separate representatives unless there is a conflict of interest. Funding for advocacy and legal help at these inquests will continue to be subject to financial means tests and contributions towards legal aid costs. Presently, the financial eligibility limits and contributions towards costs can be waived and it is our intention to amend the relevant secondary legislation to ensure that the Legal Services Commission continues to have the power to waive the means test and contributions where that is appropriate. I know that some noble Lords, including the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, have called for this funding to be provided without being subject to means limits. It is a general principle of the legal aid scheme that those who can afford to pay for their legal expenses should be expected to do so. Indeed, means-free legal aid is provided only in very narrow circumstances, such as for those detained under mental health legislation or for parents engaged in child protection cases and at risk of losing their children. In domestic violence cases where people are seeking protection from harm, the eligibility limits can be waived. I do not consider that means-free funding is appropriate for these inquests, but it is right that financial eligibility limits and contributions should be waived where appropriate. All legal aid funding is subject to the funding criteria set out in the funding code created under Section 8 of the Access to Justice Act 1999. The current funding code criteria do not apply to inquests, which are instead considered against the exceptional funding criteria. We therefore need to introduce a new section into the funding code to ensure that applications for representation at these inquests can be considered properly against relevant criteria, as they are now. We will consult with key stakeholders on this in the coming weeks. The change to the funding code will require the affirmative approval of both Houses and therefore will be considered further by Parliament in due course. Before I move the government amendment, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, for his efforts on this matter. I think he will say that he has not achieved all that he set out to do, but he has achieved quite a lot. I beg to move. Amendment 14 (to Amendment 13) Moved by