Debates between Shailesh Vara and Jessica Morden during the 2010-2015 Parliament

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Jessica Morden
Tuesday 11th November 2014

(9 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Shailesh Vara Portrait Mr Vara
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The hon. Lady will be aware that there have always been litigants in person, even before the legal aid reductions. The Government are putting in place measures to assist those people. Moreover, judges are working with us to ensure that they are assisted. We will continue to monitor the position and give assistance to people who are acting as litigants in person.

Jessica Morden Portrait Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
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18. A retired Welsh judge told BBC Wales last month that cuts to legal aid in the family court meant rising numbers of couples representing themselves, more contested hearings and longer delays in resolving cases, which“must be damaging to the child”.What consideration are the Government giving to the extent to which the system is working in the best interests of children?

Shailesh Vara Portrait Mr Vara
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I remind the hon. Lady that the manifesto on which she stood at the last election referred in chapter 5, page 5 to legal aid cuts that would be made if Labour got into government. Perhaps she would like to ask the Opposition Front Benchers whether they intend to reverse the cuts that we have made.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Jessica Morden
Tuesday 17th December 2013

(10 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Jessica Morden Portrait Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
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3. What assessment he has made of the effects of reductions in funding for civil legal aid.

Shailesh Vara Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara)
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The Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Agency keep the legal aid scheme under constant review, in terms of both expenditure and the impact of reforms. The Government will undertake a post-implementation review of the legal aid provisions in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 within the next three to five years.

Jessica Morden Portrait Jessica Morden
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Since the Government’s legal aid cuts, more of my constituents have had to represent themselves in family courts against former partners who can afford a solicitor, and local cases are being deferred by judges because they do not feel that the litigant in person is sufficiently prepared. Does the Minister agree that it is time to be transparent and produce figures showing the number of litigants who have appeared in person and the number of deferred cases that have taken place since the changes, so that we can judge the impact on our courts for ourselves?

Shailesh Vara Portrait Mr Vara
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The reforms did not come into effect until earlier this year, and we need to give them a bit more time. As I have said, we will be reviewing the position, but it is currently too early to form a proper assessment.