Authors:Sir Nicholas Young
Created:2013-04-01
Last updated:2023-09-18
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Legal aid reforms: a direct attack on the family
This new column will document evidence of the impact of the cuts to the legal aid budget and the effect of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012. Readers are invited to send in relevant information for publication (see box opposite).
Sir Nicholas Young, chief executive of the British Red Cross, writes:
Legal aid as we know it is going to change. Sweeping reforms and drastic budget cuts are set to come into force – cuts that have been roundly criticised by campaign groups, academics and lawyers alike. And among the reforms is an issue that cuts straight to the heart of British life – the importance of family. The changes mean that refugees, many of whom have overcome considerable odds to seek safety in Britain, will no longer be able to get the help they need to be reunited with their relatives. At best, it is myopic; at worst, it is a direct attack on the family. The British Red Cross, which works with 10,000 refugees and asylum-seekers every year, is urging the government to reconsider this change.
Family reunion under threat
Currently, 90 per cent of people we assist with family reunion need legal aid to enable their children and relatives to flee violence and persecution and settle in the UK. Put bluntly, the budget cuts will leave many people unable to exercise the most fundamental human right – to be with their loved ones in safety.
Should the cost of slashing budgets be quite this high? Should the Somali mother who watched her relatives murdered by militia be unable to bring her children to live with her in this country? The mother in this case was able to. She arrived in the UK in 2008, was granted asylum, found work and the means to support her children before being given the help she needed to bring them to be with her. The new system will deny people this right.
The government argues that the changes do not stop refugees applying for reunion – they should just simply fill the forms in themselves. Yet we know from the thousands we work with every year that this is anything but simple.
Bureaucracy is a major barrier for refugees who find themselves having to navigate a maze of red tape in a language they often do not fully understand. And due to the terrifying experiences many of them have faced at the hands of police, military forces and governments, there is often an understandable fear of authority and almost paralysing dread of officialdom. Even with this in mind, the government looks set to scrap legal aid for family reunion while insisting that pro bono and voluntary providers can fill the gap.
With these services themselves facing cuts, there will be a massive reduction in supply and a huge increase in demand. The result will be more ‘advice deserts’ where vulnerable people can get no legal assistance at all, and we are concerned that the families of refugees with leave to remain in the UK will not be reunited.
Conclusion
We all want to see strong, integrated families in our country. Research suggests that not only is this better for the individuals concerned, but that it helps to address a range of integration challenges arising from language and social barriers which impact on access to employment.
We understand the pressures on public expenditure. And we are happy to explore ways of reducing the burden on the taxpayer. But a government that supports family life should call time on these damaging changes which will only add to the trauma of people separated by conflict and persecution.
Individuals, advisers, organisations and practitioners are invited to submit their accounts of the impact of the LASPO Act, particularly on people who are socially, economically or otherwise disadvantaged, for publication in this column. Submissions of up to 500 words will be published in full and, on request, anonymised. E-mail:
vwilliams@lag.org.uk using the message title:
‘Legal aid cuts impact statement’.