Peers voted last month for an amendment that would ensure legal aid continued for children in all the cases currently covered by the service, citing figures that claim that the government’s proposed reforms would affect 6,000 children.
But when the bill returned to the House of Commons this week, MPs overturned all 11 amendments made in the House of Lords.
The government believes the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Offenders Bill will save £350m in legal aid costs by 2015.
Speaking during the debate in parliament on Tuesday (17 April), Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said: “As I have said, under our plans, the overwhelming majority of the existing support for children will continue. For the record, that includes child protection cases, civil cases concerning the abuse of a child, special educational needs cases, and legal aid for children who are made parties to private family proceedings.
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