Submitting evidence to the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid, which was launched in December 2018, the council states that urgent re-funding of the existing schemes is required “to make a full-time criminal defence practice viable”.
The youth court needs “specific attention”, it adds, stating that it has “long been undervalued by the state”.
The council raises concerns that despite an 84 per cent drop in first-time entrants to the youth justice system since 2009, according to Ministry of Justice and Youth Justice Board figures, “children left in the system are those who face the most challenging of personal circumstances”.
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