3. What discussions has the Counsel General held regarding access to justice in Wales? OAQ54698

We take every opportunity to raise concerns about access to justice in Wales with UK Government departments. The Commission on Justice in Wales similarly identified the extent to which people, for example, in rural areas, especially those whose first language is Welsh, for example, cannot access justice.

I'm grateful to the Counsel General for his response. May I ask him this afternoon, in further discussions that he may have, to prioritise access to justice for women and children in the family court system? I have had a number of constituency cases brought to me where people are very gravely concerned that children's voices, particularly the voices of children who have been in homes where domestic abuse has occurred, are not effectively heard in that system. And the current requirements around the thresholds of abuse to which a woman has to prove she's suffered—or, indeed, a man—before they can get access to legal aid is a real matter of concern in terms of ensuring that all parties are adequately heard. So, may I ask him, in further discussions that he has, to ensure that those issues about access to justice for women in family courts, and particularly access to justice for children, are kept very high on the agenda?

I'll certainly give the Member that assurance. Access to the justice system, and the family courts in particular, has been an issue that we have raised consistently with UK Government Ministers. And the point that she makes about the challenges that face anybody seeking legal aid in that part of the courts system in particular is, if I may say, well made. Part of the analysis that we've been undertaking in relation to the impact of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, in particular, has encompassed the sorts of issues that she is raising today, and we will continue to make those representations on behalf of users of the courts system here in Wales.