Oral Answers to Questions

Anna Turley Excerpts

Tuesday 8th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Anna Turley (Redcar) (Lab/Co-op)]

11. What assessment he has made of the ease of access for children to appropriate legal representation.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities and Family Justice (Caroline Dinenage)]

The Government believe it is important for children and young people to have access to justice. That is why we have made sure that legal aid funding is available for the highest priority cases, including many that are of relevance to children.

[Anna Turley]

The director of the Youth Justice Legal Centre has said that many children are more reliant on the advice and support of their security guard than on their solicitor or legal team. What other steps are the Government taking to ensure that children and young people have access to proper support so that they can participate in a process that could affect the rest of their lives?

[Caroline Dinenage]

We are monitoring closely the impact of any changes—we keep this constantly under review—and we would be very concerned if there was any evidence that vulnerable children were not getting the help they needed.