
JustRights, a coalition of groups including Youth Access, is calling on the party’s MPs and peers to act on a motion passed at its annual conference this month to persuade ministers to mothball legal aid changes proposed by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.
The proposals, under the banner Transforming Legal Aid, will restrict legal aid for prisoners and those not lawfully resident in the UK for 12 months and make it harder to challenge unlawful government decisions through judicial reviews.
Under the 2012 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, implemented earlier this year, access to legal aid in civil cases has already become far harder for children and young people under the age of 25, says JustRights.??
Their letter to MPs calls for the new changes to legal aid to be halted so that they can be fully scrutinised by parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights and a full assessment of the impact of both sets of changes is made.
Lib Dem MPs are also being urged to consider substantial exemptions for children and young people who are at risk of harm if they are unable to enforce their rights through legal action.
At its annual conference this month, the party passed a motion calling for the new proposals “to be stayed pending thorough consultation and scrutiny”.??
JustRights also points out that the current Lib Dem youth policy pledges to improve young people’s access to legal advice. ??The legal aid restrictions are likely to affect the most vulnerable groups of young people such as those in care, care leavers, victims of trafficking, asylum seekers and the homeless, says JustRights.
A source close to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) told CYP Now: "Lord McNally (the minister responsible) has said that no vulnerable groups will be unfairly affected by this and if they are he wants to hear about it."??
To illustrate the problems cuts to legal aid are creating, JustRights cites the example of a young person with a learning disability who was the victim of sexual abuse and trafficking. This young person had used legal aid prior to the act becoming law to challenge a Home Office delay to his asylum application. But under the act he would have been unable to do so, says JustRights.??
Young offenders looking to launch a legal challenge over poor support in custody or when they are released would also miss out. ??
James Kenrick, JustRights co-chairman, said: “The changes to access to legal aid are incredibly damaging for young people. We know that good legal advice will make a large difference to the outcomes of young people, many of whom will have mental health issues. Without this their outcomes are set to worsen and there could be devastating consequences for them.”??
He added that charities and law firms specialising in legal support for young people, such as the Streetwise Community Law Centre, are already closing as a result of the changes.
A MoJ spokesperson said: "The government's legal aid reforms will create a sustainable legal aid system that will still be one of the most generous in the world costing around £1.5bn. We want to ensure the limited public funds available are targeted at those cases and people who need it most.
"We have listened to views on our original consultation and built in further safeguards. For instance, the introduction of the residency test which will ensure that only those with a strong connection to the UK are able to receive civil legal aid, will not apply in cases like protection of children, victims of domestic violence or human trafficking. Earlier this month we stated we would be proceeding with most of the reforms proposed in April, but have put some revised proposals out for further consultation."
Other groups involved in the JustRights coalition are the Children’s Rights Alliance for England, Law Centres Federation and Howard League for Penal Reform.
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