Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

My Lords, I speak to the amendment in my name and in those of the noble Baronesses, Lady Eaton and Lady Benjamin. I am also very proud to say that the name of the noble Lord, Lord Newton of Braintree, was included on this amendment, and I know that I speak for all those in this Chamber when I say that he will be greatly missed. This amendment would make legal aid available for children in all current cases, including when they are victims of medical negligence. At present, legal aid helps just over 40,000 children every year who have civil justice legal problems in their own right. If the Bill is left as it stands, legal aid for around 35,000 children every year will continue, but legal aid will not be available for around 6,000 children under 18 who would qualify if the current rules remained in place. The Government have so far not explained why those 6,000 children will be treated differently from other children who have problems under the same categories of law. This is now the 40th day of debate in your Lordships' House and in the other place. I do not believe that the Government have been able to explain the criteria that will decide, for example, why 220 children will continue to receive legal aid support in cases about their education but 110 will not. This is from among the numbers remaining after the Government conceded last June that legal aid would be kept for cases involving children with special educational needs—numbers obtainable only through a freedom of information request by the Children's Society. When put on the spot about which children will lose legal aid, the Government say that they will be able to apply to be treated as exceptional cases under Clause 10. I do not believe that there should be any confusion or delay as to whether a child under 18 is entitled to legal advice and representation in British civil justice. Children are not adults—they do not have the capacity to represent themselves or to interpret the thousands of pages of laws and regulations that affect them. The question of a child's capacity to represent themselves is explicitly recognised and provided for in international law. The Children's Commissioner for England, Dr Maggie Atkinson, wrote to the Lord Chancellor to warn that denying children a voice in legal proceedings would be in breach of the European convention. She said: "““Children, by virtue of their age and capacity, will not be able to present their case effectively in the majority of proceedings … Children's need for legal aid in civil cases where they are a party should not be viewed as 'exceptional'””." I am very concerned that, in many of these cases, children have been put in the position of taking action against a local authority. It is a question of a child versus the state, and the state in this Bill is denying children the capacity to challenge it. Camila Batmanghelidjh of Kids Company told us about a child who came to her charity in desperate need of help, and how the charity's lawyer was able to use legal aid to challenge the local authority to accept its responsibilities. Camila said: "““She was under 18, but not recognised as vulnerable by the local authority despite being chronically abused at home. In the end the judge agreed with us and forced Lambeth to take her into care, when they were leaving her on the streets. I think the point we want to bring is how local authorities are not doing their job properly, and legal aid is the only way they can be held accountable””." However, what have the Government told us will happen to children denied legal aid? During Report in the other place, the Justice Minister said: "““Unaccompanied children with an asylum or immigration issue would have a social worker assigned to them, whose role would include helping the child to gain access to the same advice and support as a child who was permanently settled in the UK. They could also offer assistance with filling in forms and explaining terms, and give emotional support””.—[Official Report, Commons, 31/10/11; col. 689.]" So a social worker is expected to help in a case that might well bring them against their own employer, the local authority. If we do not support this amendment, we will be asking a child to go into the courtroom alone to argue his or her case against a barrister paid for by the taxpayer. It will be unjust and unfair, and I believe that it will also be a false economy. The Ministry of Justice believes that it can save £6 million or £7 million from its legal aid budget by denying legal aid to these 6,000 children, but the knock-on cost to the public purse could far outweigh that sum. As we have heard throughout the debates on this Bill, the Government have given no estimate of the knock-on cost that will arise because legal problems are not sorted out early, even though they accept that there will be wider costs to society and to the taxpayer. The Ministry of Justice response to the consultation on the Bill said: "““The lack of a robust evidence base means we are unable to draw conclusions as to whether wider economic and social costs are likely to result from the programme of reform or to estimate their size … It is not possible to quantify accurately these wider costs””." To deny children, the most vulnerable in our society, the ability to access legal aid without any understanding of what the wider consequences would be is not something we should accept. I beg to move.