Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

I want to echo the case made so powerfully by my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mrs Chapman) and to talk about the importance of the Lords amendments in mitigating the impact of the Bill on some of the most vulnerable members of our society—namely, children. The passionate criticism of the Bill by Members in the other place revealed the short-term, short-sighted and potentially damaging aspects of this legislation, which will hit the most disadvantaged the most unfairly. I commend the work of the other place and the amendments that were passed as a result. My concerns about the impact of the Bill on access to justice for children are shared by many of my constituents, my local citizens advice bureau and not-for-profit children's and women's organisations. They are also shared by anyone with an ounce of common sense and compassion. If Lords amendment 171 is rejected, the Bill will remove legal aid for children seeking access to justice for a whole range of problems from debt to clinical negligence. They are individuals who are unfortunate enough to find themselves in need of recourse to the justice system. That is not something that people choose, contrary to the impression given by the Lord Chancellor; they are going through a most difficult time. For a child or young person, that stress will be compounded by their age and vulnerability. Those who are likely to be affected by the proposal are vulnerable adults, children in care and those who are just leaving care, without support from parents or family, from whom they might be estranged as a result of abuse or other difficulties. A great many children need help. Last year, 41,000 accessed legal aid as a primary applicant, but the Government have confirmed that 13% of such children—between 5,000 and 6,000 of them—would lose their entitlement if the Lords amendment were not retained. It is unthinkable that children in such a vulnerable state should be expected to navigate the legal system on their own without representation. How does the Government's proposal sit with the pledge by the children's Minister, the Minister of State, Department for Education, the hon. Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather), to ensure that everything the Government did would be seen in the light of the United Nations convention on the rights of the child? That was yet another meaningless Liberal promise that has been trampled on by a Tory-led Government. The exceptional cases scheme is the mechanism proposed by the Government for funding legal aid to children, and somehow, those children will be expected to apply to it directly. It is no safety net, it will be costly to administer and, by the Government's own admission, it will be unable to cover the 6,000 children who have lost their entitlement. It will be bureaucratic and inefficient. The Government have calculated the cost of accepting the amendment at between £5 million and £6 million, which is a mere 4% of the cost of providing legal aid to under-18s. What thought has been given to the cost, both human and financial, and the lasting implications of the proposals? Children and young people might not be able to get the help that they need at the most critical point, and they could easily be overwhelmed. In the worst cases, they could face homelessness, permanent exclusion from school or spiralling debt leading to crime. The criminal justice and welfare systems and the NHS will bear the far greater cost of picking up the pieces, and local authorities will bear the cost of the removal of legal aid for unaccompanied child asylum seekers. I urge the Government not to overturn the amendment. Targeting the most vulnerable in this way is simply unjust and a false economy.