Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

My Lords, I have put my name to Amendment 33, which seeks to retain legal aid in cases where a child will be affected by the outcome of a case brought by a parent or guardian. Many children are affected by civil law problems and family cases involving their parents or guardians, even though they themselves are not the applicant or claimant. The Government have said that, "““where children are involved, legal aid will still be provided””.—[Official Report, 7/7/11; col. 343.]" However, this is not in fact the case under the proposals in the Bill. I know that the Government recognise the importance of legal aid funding in a range of cases where children’s interests are paramount, which is good news. There are, however, still areas that cause grave concerns to many charities and organisations across all parts of society, and which unfairly affect children. They are: housing; welfare; immigration; domestic violence; clinical negligence; criminal injury compensation; and education. This will probably be due to their parents’ lack of financial resources and ability to navigate the legal system. Their parents may also be hindered by disability, language barriers, poverty, and mental health issues. These are no good reasons for children to be penalised. Almost 150,000 children under 18 will lose the civil law and family law protection provided by legal aid. They are currently helped by legal advice or representation in court to deal with problems that are no fault of their own. Children are the named party in 6,000 cases per year that will no longer qualify for legal aid, and are financially affected by more than 140,000 cases per year involving their parents. The amendment would ensure that where dependent children will be affected by a case their parents are being represented in, legal aid will continue to be available subject to existing rules on financial suitability and the viability of the case. For welfare benefit advice, currently 135,000 advice sessions per year are funded by legal aid. Under the Bill’s proposal, however, legal aid’s support for benefit advice is being abolished. In tribunal appeals where the applicant has legal advice, 55 per cent of all Department for Work and Pensions decisions to cut benefit are found to be wrong and are overturned. About 36,000 children are affected each year who come from the lowest income families, for whom losing the benefits they are entitled to will make a significant difference to their lives. As I have often said, childhood lasts a lifetime and the adversities children go through when they are young will in most cases stay with them for ever and affect their adult lives. The Not Seen and Not Heard report, commissioned by Just Rights and the Law Society and published in September last year, found that 140,000 under-18 year-olds every year are likely to be affected as dependents by the withdrawal of legal funding for cases. That figure is made up of 68,000 children a year involved in family contact and finance disputes; more than 36,000 in cases where legal aid has been removed from welfare benefit cases involving their parents; and around 40,000 children affected by their parents’ housing, debt, consumer, immigration and clinical negligence cases, which currently are all supported by legal aid. The children and young people who will be affected by these changes are some of the most vulnerable in England and Wales. Eighty per cent of young people reporting civil legal problems also face other challenges and disadvantages. These children and young people will be left to navigate the legal system and face the courts alone. This cannot be right and proper. We cannot let them down in this way because we know that when young people do not get advice, their problems escalate. Recent research showed links between civil legal problems and crime. Young people who had recently been arrested had higher levels of housing, debt and benefit problems—key factors associated with reoffending—and 55 per cent of 16 to 24 year-olds who had been recently arrested reported experiencing at least one difficult-to-solve civil justice problem. In a letter to the Times on 27 July 2011, the Justice Minister said: "““Legal aid will remain for children in almost all cases””." This statement is not upheld by the proposal in the Bill, and we cannot justify this. We have to show fairness and compassion to all our children and young people, especially the disadvantaged, if we are to have social equality. The Government say that their legal aid changes aim to save money, yet the costs of civil legal aid for children, mainly in advice, are small compared with the potential savings, and the cost of not providing advice is far greater. Research from Citizens Advice found that for every £1 of legal aid expenditure on benefits advice, the state potentially saved £8.80. Reducing family legal aid provision will lead to more people representing themselves in the family courts in person. This will increase delays in the already overburdened court system and will raise administration costs. Costs may also be transferred to other state-funded services such as the social housing and benefits systems if inadequate and unfair settlements are agreed by those without legal advice. This will in the end be counterproductive. It is where we need common sense to prevail. Many children's charities have given support to the amendment. The NSPCC stated that it was, "““gravely concerned about these proposals to remove legal aid, and thus access to justice, in many family cases ... This will mean that some of the most vulnerable members of our society will be subject to negative consequences resulting from the lack of expert legal advice needed to make vital decisions about … where a child should live or group they should have contact with””." The Children's Society stated: "““Legal aid is already limited to those who cannot pay for legal assistance by any other means and thus provides a safety net to ensure protection and equality for the vulnerable and disadvantaged ... This includes children who will suffer as a knock on effect of limited access to justice for their parents or carers, whose decisions will impact on them””." We must not turn our backs on the most vulnerable in our society—those without a voice and those who will most certainly be fundamentally affected. The proposals laid out in the Bill will do just that if the right safeguards are not put in place to protect children’s well-being. I hope that the Government will secure protection for this highly vulnerable group by ensuring that when children are involved, legal aid will continue to be provided. Finally, I leave my noble friend the Minister with this thought. Research shows that children in Britain are considered to be some of the most unhappy in the world. I plead with the Minister: let us not compound this. Please accept this amendment.