Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on children of the removal of parts of education law from the scope of legal aid under Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

The Ministry of Justice recently published an extensive, evidence based review of the changes made by Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which included an assessment of the impact of the removal of parts of education law from the scope of legal aid.

Following this, the department announced several changes as part of the Legal Support Action Plan to improve access to legal support, including reinstating immediate access to face-to-face advice for special educational needs and discrimination cases by Spring 2020.