Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to legal support for parents involved in international child abduction cases.

Legal aid is available under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), for legal advice and representation in cases of international abduction where a child has unlawfully been brought to England and Wales from another country. Both the applicant and respondent may be eligible, subject to passing the relevant eligibility tests and providing the required documentation.

For example, an applicant seeking the return of their child is eligible for non-means and non-merits tested legal aid for legal representation, where they reside in a country which has signed the 1980 Hague Convention, and have made an application to the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit. The respondent is eligible for legal aid but is subject to means and merits testing.

Legal aid is also available to an applicant who is seeking to prevent the unlawful removal of a child (if they are a parent or have parental responsibility for the child) from the United Kingdom or to secure the return of a child who has been unlawfully removed from the United Kingdom, where the relevant proceedings are taking place in England and Wales. Funding is subject to passing the means and merits tests.

The Government provides funding to Reunite International, a charity that operates a 24-hour telephone advice line offering information and practical support to parents, guardians and family members in international child abduction cases. Reunite also offer a mediation service, which can provide an alternative means of resolving an international child abduction case.