IMMIGRATION: 'big shortage' of skilled lawyers who can talk to traumatised children


Child asylum seekers who come to this country alone are being failed by the UK's legal system, a leading national children's charity has warned.



The Children's Society said in a report that there is 'a big shortage' of lawyers skilled in both immigration and children's law who can talk sensitively to traumatised children and get them to speak about their harrowing experiences.



The charity also claimed that 'because of the restrictions on funding, children can be dropped by their lawyers because their case is too complicated, or asked for several thousand pounds to continue'. It also said it was 'worried by reports that some children are begging, selling sex, and engaging in other forms of illegal work to pay for legal representation'.



Lisa Nandy, a policy adviser at the charity and author of the paper, said that the gravest issue facing child refugees was access to expert advice.



She said: 'Many of the bigger and better-known law firms have stopped doing publicly-funded work. Inexperienced lawyers get things wrong and cases are dropped. Some children we work with have had five lawyers or more.'



Ms Nandy added that reports of children selling sex remain unproved. 'Children have told us that they have heard of other children being exploited in this way. We cannot confirm any such instance. However, we are very concerned about one case that we were directly involved in, where a girl suddenly managed to "find" £3,000 for legal fees. We suspect trafficking.'



Chris Randall, chairman of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association, said there was growing evidence that separated children seeking asylum were unable to secure access to the appropriate advice. 'Specialist legal advice and representation are essential to ensure all aspects of the child's experiences are taken into account and that relevant medical and other evidence is made available to the decision-maker.'



Carolyn Regan, chief executive of the Legal Services Commission, said she was confident that the current arrangements to provide publicly-funded legal advice and representation met the needs of asylum-seeking children. 'The many legal advisers providing this advice are some of the most dedicated, conscientious and highest-quality practitioners. We require that all advisers are accredited, which involves the direct testing of each individual.'



She added: 'All cases in relation to this client group are paid under extendable hourly rates.'



Jonathan Rayner