Oral Answers to Questions

Paul Blomfield Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)]

1. What his future plans for legal aid are.

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

3. What his future plans for legal aid are.

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)]

11. What his future plans for legal aid are.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vara]

We need to look at the bigger picture and recognise that legal aid expenditure in this country—for England and Wales—is some £2 billion, which makes our system one of the most expensive in the world. Even after the reductions have gone through, the bill will still be one of the most generous in the world. We have to ensure that these reductions go through so that the legal aid budget remains sustainable.

[Paul Blomfield]

After a legal aid-funded judicial review of a negative reasonable grounds decision, the Home Office agreed that a Sheffield resident was a victim of trafficking. Under the new regime she would not pass the residence test for legal aid. The Government have been making much recently of their commitment to tackle human trafficking, so will they now reconsider their decision to reject the recommendation by the Joint Committee on Human Rights to exempt from the residence test all cases where the status of a trafficking victim is contested?

[Mr Vara]

We have made it absolutely clear that for the residence test it is important that they are our people—that they have some link to this country. We have set out where there are exceptions, and that has been made abundantly clear.