Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Ministry of Justice

Oral Answers to Questions

Douglas McAllister Excerpts
Tuesday 10th September 2024

(1 month, 3 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Heidi Alexander Portrait Heidi Alexander
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I will take that away and do that.

Douglas McAllister Portrait Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
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Does the Minister agree that a properly funded legal aid scheme both here and in Scotland is essential for access to justice, and that the decline in this vital public service that both the Tories and the SNP have presided over is nothing short of disgraceful?

Heidi Alexander Portrait Heidi Alexander
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What we are experiencing is the very long tail of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which has meant that both the civil and criminal legal aid sectors have faced huge challenges. That is vital to people’s access to justice.