As many of you will be aware
April 2013 heralded a new regime to Family Law Cases as a result of changes to
the Legal Aid System.
The implications for Family Court
users has been vast and has seen the number of parties represented in Court
Proceedings drop considerably. The Law
Society Gazette recently reported that Cafcass figures show that before the
Legal Aid cuts in April 2013 that 22% of all cases involved both parties being
represented at Court. By December 2013
this had reduced dramatically to just 4%.
So where does this leave you?
At present, to qualify for Legal
Aid/Public Funding you have to satisfy a number of criteria. This includes a financial assessment of your
means, a merits test, and you must also be
able to satisfy the Legal Aid Agency that there has been either domestic
violence or child abuse perpetrated by the other party.
This last part of the test is not
simple to satisfy and you have to provide documentary evidence to demonstrate
either or both of these elements. The
criteria for these are quite extensive,
however Gamlins Law are happy to discuss with you whether you are able to
qualify for assistance with funding from the Legal Aid Agency.
Most recently the criteria has
been extended to include evidence, by way of letter, from a Health Professional
confirming that they referred you to a domestic violence support service within
the last 24 months.
In my experience those in abusive
relationships do not always report the crime or seek assistance or support from
a domestic violence support service.
They can then find it very difficult to face the perpetrator at
Court in contact cases or in matrimonial proceedings concerning financial
arrangements and the Government need to take steps to address this.
I suppose the question to ask is
whether the changes are here for the foreseeable future. I feel that for the time being they are here
to stay however, challenges to the Legal Aid Agency are slowly starting to come
to the forefront. The recent case of JG v
The Lord Chancellor and Other [2014] EWCA Civ 656 has provided
significant headway on the issue of expert fees in Family Law cases. In this case the Court of Appeal decided that
the Legal Aid Agency’s refusal to meet the costs for an experts report ordered
for a child in family proceedings was unlawful. This does not mean that experts will always be
funded by any party with a Legal Aid certificate and the Court will have to
decide on the fact specific grounds of each case whether an expert is justified
in that instance. Essentially, this
confirms the position that it is the Court who determines whether an expert
report is required and for the Court to determine how that report is to be
funded.
There is also the case of Q v Q
[2014] EWFC 7 in which a father was seeking contact to his children
when a review of his certificate led to it being withdrawn. In this case the father had convictions for
sexual offences and an assessment of the father conducted during the
proceedings determined that there should be no contact between the father and
the children. As a result of the
father’s funding certificate being revoked The President adjourned the case and
invited the Legal Aid Agency, Ministry of Justice and the Secretary of State to
make submissions on the issue of funding.
This challenge to the removal of funding for the father raises issues as
to whether there has been a breach of the father’s Human Rights as he has not
had the benefit of representation when the mother has and also whether there
may be any disadvantage to the child as a result of this.
Whilst this is a step in the
right direction there is still a mountain to climb.
Gamlins Law have offices
throughout North Wales. Visit our
website at www.gamlinslaw.co.uk for
contact details. Or alternatively please
email me on sian.williams@gamlins.co.uk
Note – All views expressed
in this article are of the personal view of Sian Williams and are not
necessarily shared by Gamlins Law.
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