Emma Lewell
Main Page: Emma Lewell (Labour - South Shields)Department Debates - View all Emma Lewell's debates with the Ministry of Justice
(3 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Sarah Sackman
It is vital that those who need legal aid—some of the most vulnerable people in our society—can access it. We are funding provisions such as Advicenow, which is an online provision. We also ensure through our contracting process through the Legal Aid Agency that there is provision right across the country to ensure that no one, including those in rural areas, struggles to access legal aid.
Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)
My constituent Claire Ball was sexually abused as a child. As an adult, she faced her abuser in court. He was allowed to provide character references. Her good character was called into question, yet she was not allowed character references. Will my hon. Friend take steps to rectify this unfairness for victims such as Claire?
Alex Davies-Jones
I thank my hon. Friend for raising that vital point. This Government are looking at character references carefully, and we will bring forward information on that in due course.