The Fight for Child Legal Aid

Former Conservative MP, Lord Norman Tebbit, has begun his campaign to fight for Legal Aid access for children in cases of medical negligence claims. Along with a group of peers, Lord Tebbit wants the government to review their decision and debate the proposed amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill further.

The Bill has been set up to try and save an estimated £350 million from the Ministry of Justice’s annual budget. Legal Aid access will be cut from medical negligence cases as well as cases involving employment, disputes, housing and debt. However, the Bill has been criticised and opposed by many in the House of Lords. Lord Tebbit agreed that the rules and laws surrounding Legal Aid did in fact need to be reviewed however he made it clear that where children are involved, the issue requires further debate.

The House of Lords have already begun to discuss the Bill in great detail and with more than 200 amendments to consider, they are going through it line by line