Research reveals thousands of young people ‘at grave risk’
Legal aid cuts in 2013 have had devastating consequences for children, a new report by Coram Children’s Legal Centre (Coram) reveals.
The report, Rights without remedies, which was published this week, shows the impact on children of LASPO (the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012). It highlights how the cuts introduced by LASPO left thousands of children each year at grave risk of miscarriages of justice with some losing their home, legal status, education and family access.
According to the report, at least 6,000 children each year are unable to access legal help or representation on a civil matter. For example, Coram’s Child Law Advice Service (CLAS) believes schools may have acted unlawfully in a quarter of school exclusions by not complying with procedures or not adequately considering special educational needs. However, legal aid was not available in most of these cases.
Coram also estimates that there are several thousand children in local authority care where immigration (rather than trafficking or asylum) is the main issue. Those children would be claimants in their own right but are not eligible for legal aid. While local authorities have a duty to help those children resolve their immigration and legal issues, the relevant statutory guidance is silent on how it is to be funded. Coram estimate it costs local authorities £10m per year, compared to a cost of £6m or less if legal aid were restored.
Consequently, Coram is calling for urgent changes to the government’s exceptional funding ‘safety net’ for vulnerable individuals, and for legal aid to be reinstated for all children in the care of local authorities or where children’s services are involved in private law family proceedings.
Dr Carol Homden, Coram’s chief executive officer, said: ‘Charities cannot, nor can they be expected to, fill the gaps left by limitations to a statutory service.’
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