Ministers confirmed a £6m investment last week to extend legal
aid funding to extended family members applying for special guardianship orders
(SGOs) through the courts. Previously, legal aid was only available where the
local authority applied to remove a child from their birth parents.
Law Society vice president Nick Emmerson welcomed the extension
but said the changes do not go far enough.
‘Legal aid for special guardians, who are often grandparents,
should be non-means tested,’ he said.
‘Many fall through the justice gap as they are excluded from legal aid because of the capital in their home but they may not have enough income from a pension to pay for legal costs. It is better for the child and better financially for the public purse if an SGO can be arranged and making legal aid for special guardians non-means tested would help achieve this.’
