Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the residence test for civil legal aid with Article 16 of the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons.

We believe that in principle, individuals should have a strong connection to the UK in order to benefit from the civil legal aid scheme. We therefore intend to introduce a residence test for civil legal aid requiring applicants to be lawfully resident in the UK, Crown Dependencies or British Overseas Territories at the time they apply for civil legal aid and have resided there lawfully for at least 12 continuous months in the past.

We are satisfied that the residence test is fully compatible with our domestic and international legal obligations, including the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons.