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Lawyers fear legal aid cuts will raise risk of another Baby P death
Martin Bentham06.03.09
More than 300 barristers are to gather tomorrow to protest over cuts to the family legal aid budget, which they warn could leave hundreds of children exposed to the risk of abuse.
The barristers, from the Family Law Bar Association, claim that the changes will cause a drop of up to 30 per cent in the money available for advocacy in child care and other domestic cases and will deter the most highly skilled lawyers from taking on such work.
They say this loss of expertise will make it harder for councils or parents to bring the successful court cases needed before vulnerable children can be removed from potential abusers.
The lawyers also fear that the cuts could lead to the problem of children being wrongly taken into care because innocent parents are unable to adequately counter allegations against them - and harm the ability of domestic violence victims to obtain protection from their former partners.
Ministers insist that the cuts, which are proposed by the Legal Services Commission, are needed because of the rising cost of family legal aid, which has grown by 46 per cent in five years.
They also deny that the reforms will lead to worsening standards - or increase the risk of tragedies such as the death of Baby P in Haringey.
At the protest meeting, to be held at the Royal College of Surgeons, however, the Family Law Bar Association will warn of a serious impact upon victims of abuse if the cuts are implemented.
Announcing a campaign to halt the changes, Lucy Theis QC, the association's chairman, said: "The cuts that are proposed are fundamentally flawed and will drive expertise away from family law with consequences that are extremely grave for some of the most vulnerable in society."
Desmond Browne QC, chairman of the Bar Council, which is also opposing the cuts, added: "The impact that these cuts will have is abhorrent."
Among the barristers' key criticisms is that the overall reduction in funding will lead to experienced staff opting for more lucrative areas of law.
Another concern is that planned changes to the fee structure within the budget will result in lower payments for those taking on more complex cases. This, the barristers argue, will mean that the most difficult cases could be dealt with by less skilled lawyers.
The Legal Services Commission's plans, which are currently subject to consultation, are intended to reduce the overall bill for family legal aid. This rose from £399million in 2001-02 to £582 million in 2007-08.
Ministers said that domestic violence and child protection cases remain of "the highest priority".
Lord Bach, the legal aid minister, added: "We must ensure continued access to justice for vulnerable families while securing the best value for money for taxpayers."
Reader views (3)
"Ministers said that domestic violence and child protection cases remain of "the highest priority":- empty words if ever I heard them.
These people are detached from real emotions and have no idea what it would be like to loose your child to the system because of poor legal representation.
- Gary Fuller, Maidstone, Kent
I have recently subscribed to the NSPCC after finding out the wonderful work they do and that they 'rescued' Childline. However, this change is a shocking failure on behalf of the government and child welfare must be really the highest priority and not just empty words. They've gone long past caring about what's in the best interest of tax payers when they let half the world come and claim off our benefits system and use our NHS and take up our housing stock so that excuse doesn't exactly cut it.
- Real, London
It's not enough that many of the identified being abused at risk children are being subjected to sub-standard child protection ability on A National Level, now the children, caught up in family justice matters, are to be made to suffer by a cut in legal aid access when they try to seek protection and justice.
Any comment from the NSPCC?
What have jack Straw and Ed Balls got to say about this?
They had better not tell us that Every Child Matters !!
- Tessa Boo, London W11 1NR
