Features

The future of legal aid provision

3 mins read Legal
Kamena Dorling, head of policy and public affairs at Coram, examines recent announcements by the government relating to the provision of legal aid and access to justice for vulnerable children

On 7 February, the government released its long-awaited post-implementation review (PIR) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). Published alongside the 289-page review was a legal action plan outlining the government's plan for the future of legal support in the UK. Both contain important commitments regarding children, reflecting the concerns raised by Coram and other charities and legal providers.

Private family law

Private family law cases were removed from the scope of legal aid under LASPO, except where there is evidence of domestic abuse or child abuse, despite such cases being of clear importance to the children involved: they determine who they will live with, who has parental responsibility for them, contact with family members and their standard of living. The review heard many calls from the sector for the restoration of early legal advice, in part as a means of encouraging parents to consider and participate in alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation. The PIR acknowledges that "whilst the volume of publicly funded mediation was expected to increase, it has actually declined, largely because of the removal of funding for legal aid providers to refer clients towards mediation."

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