Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement of 12 July 2018, on Justice update, HCWS853, whether the reinstatement of legal aid will apply to children located outside of the UK whose cases may fall under (a) the Dublin regulation and (b) section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.

Children located outside of the UK who wish to challenge a decision by the UK government not to accept a request by another EU Member State to transfer their asylum claim to the UK under the Dublin Regulation can do so by means of judicial review, for which legal aid is already available.

Under section 67, participating States refer eligible children to the UK to be relocated. There is no individual application process or right to relocation if a person meets the eligibility criteria. Therefore, there is no process for which the individual could require legal aid.

We are currently consulting with stakeholders about the reinstatement of legal aid announced in the Written Statement of 12 July 2018, HCWS853, and more information about the policy will be laid out in due course.