Saturday May 17

Former President of the Family Division speaks in Lords debate on Children and FamiliesDame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss stated in a debate in the House of Lords that she "already advises Bar students not to do family work" in the light of the continuing cutbacks in public funding.

"I already advise Bar students not to do family work" says Lady Butler-Sloss

Former President of the Family Division speaks in Lords debate on Children and FamiliesDame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss stated in a debate in the House of Lords that she "already advises Bar students not to do family work" in the light of the continuing cutbacks in public funding.

She was speaking in a debate on children and families and made the intervention following a meeting with the FLBA she co-chaired on Tuesday 12 May. She went on to say

"Following the Legal Services Commission’s proposals, there is about to be a serious and irreparable loss of the pool of expertise.

My concern is not at all for the lawyers; it is for children and the parents who must be represented. The legal aid changes raise issues about the rights and welfare of children. They involve Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Articles 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. There will be a lack of access to justice and a lack of adequate representation of children and of the parents who may be unfairly accused of misbehaviour and may lose their children for ever. Much more important is the grave danger of the loss for children of their parents if these cases are not properly tested.

I cannot overemphasise the potential damage to these extremely vulnerable groups of children."

The full text of the debate, which took place on Thursday 14 May, can be found on the Hansard website.