27th September 2013

 
JustRights has submitted written evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which is holding an inquiry into the implications for access to justice of certain of the Government’s proposals to reform legal aid.
 
In our submission, we provide evidence that:
 
·                     The proposals and decisions that form the subject of the Committee’s scrutiny will deprive children and young people of vital legal assistance when facing problems with accommodation, support, education, family contact and prison.
·                     The decision to introduce a residence test and scrap almost all prison law cases will have a devastating effect on young people, potentially placing them beyond the protection of the court and at risk of on-going abuse.
·                     The proposal to change the rules for payment in judicial review cases, which are often the last best hope of the most vulnerable, are likely to restrict access to expert public law practitioners best placed to help young people.
·                     The blanket imposition of restrictions on access to justice will disproportionally affect young people.
 
Read our full submission to the JCHR