Sir, The provision of legal representation per se due to lack of adequate funding (letters, July 19) is irrelevant if that representation is not truly independent and accountable and provided within fair and transparent court procedures.

Parents are provided with a list of solicitors specialising in defending care actions. These solicitors also represent the children’s guardian in other cases, an obvious potential conflict of interest, particularly given that government remuneration is more likely to be dependent upon outcome, unlike legal aid. The role of the parents’ lawyer also has to be clarified, as at present, because of the quasi-inquisitorial nature of care proceedings, it generally consists of court housekeeping and advising parents to co-operate by agreeing social services’ interim applications.

The law itself is vague and expansive. The threat of obtaining an interim care order is used to ensure compliance with interim orders, even where the main order is merely supervisory. Parents are excluded from all interim hearing and thus unaware of the arguments made and, more importantly, the judge’s response to them, making the system ripe for manipulation and inaccuracy.

Invariably, the court’s judgment concurs with the recommendations in the children’s guardian report, which is filed before the court hearing to test the creditability and admissibility of the evidence upon which it is based. Despite conflicting interests to reduce costs, only one expert is generally instructed to act for three separate and opposing parties, ie, child guardian, the social services and the parents.

Until these serious flaws are addressed, remuneration will only remain of paramount importance to the lawyers.

Finola moss
Solicitor and senior lecturer in law, Sheffield Hallam University

Sir, Many of the comments made by Carolyn Reagan, of the Legal Services Commission (letter, July 16), are valid but I am amazed that “the LSC has no evidence or knowledge of any reason why solicitors would be unwilling to take on this work”. The level of fees set for public law is causing many firms to consider ceasing such work. The firms that continue, do so from a genuine desire to provide a service. The current rates of pay now make this almost impossible. The nature of work involved requires considerable experience from the legal representatives and yet the pay structure by no means reflects this. The time may come where it is not possible for parents even to obtain appropriate representation.

If it is felt that the present system is unfair, that situation can only get worse if there are insufficient lawyers.

Chris Myles
Family solicitor, York

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