Campaign Calls

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The JustRights Coalition wants to see a system of justice which gives all children and young people ready access to high quality independent legal advice and representation whenever they may need it in the course of their lives.

To achieve this we call upon Government and relevant public authorities to:

  • Recognise the uniquely vulnerable nature of children and young people as a legal advice client group and their current marginalisation from access to justice.
  • Invest in the development of age appropriate legal services in the form of dedicated and independent services meeting the comprehensive legal advice needs of children and young people in each Children’s Trust or Local Authority area.
  • Develop a cross-Government strategy for children and young people’s rights-based information and advice services involving, as a minimum: the Department for Children, Schools and Families; the Ministry of Justice / Legal Services Commission; and the Department of Communities and Local Government.
  • Develop a national strategy for educating all children and young people about their legal rights, whatever their circumstances or setting, and how they can avoid and deal with law-related problems.
  • Ensure a thorough age equality impact assessment of all policy reforms in the funding of legal services.
  • Enable the meaningful participation of children and young people in the development of legal advice policy and services.
  • Resource and support the training and workforce reforms required in the children’s, youth and legal advice sectors if children and young people’s legal advice needs are to be met.