Re D (A Child) [2014] EWFC 39
On 31st October 2014 the President of the Family Division Sir James Munby delivered an approved judgment in the above case dealing specifically with the impact of the denial of legal aid to the parents in the case. Both parents have learning difficulties and are respondents to a placement application by the local authority, pursuant to section 22 Adoption and Children Act 2002. The parents do not qualify for legal aid and cannot afford to pay for their legal representation.
The judgment highlights the key impact of legal aid cuts to the most vulnerable individuals in need of legal representation and the impact of the changes to legal aid due to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO).
A copy of the judgment has been provided to the Lord Chancellor, the Legal Aid Agency, Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services along with an invitation to each of them to intervene and provide submissions for the next hearing of this case on 13th November 2014.