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When exceptional is the rule: mental health, family problems and the reform of legal aid in England and Wales
- Authors:
- MILES Jo, BALMER Nigel J., SMITH Marisol
- Journal article citation:
- Child and Family Law Quarterly, 24(3), 2012, pp.320-332.
- Publisher:
- Jordan Publishing
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 will from April 2013 remove legal aid from many areas of private family law (including child contact and residence, and financial orders) except where there is acceptable evidence of domestic violence or child abuse. However, exceptional funding will be made available on a case by case basis where it is determined that the provision of legal aid is necessary to avoid a breach, or the risk of a breach, of the person’s right under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 (ECHR). The ECHR protects a right to legal aid in civil proceedings where necessary to ensure ‘practical and effective’ access to court. Individuals with mental health problems may be unable to represent themselves satisfactorily and therefore be in need of legal representation. This article examines data from the 2006-2009 Civil and Social Justice Survey (CSJS) which explored the prevalence of mental health problems amongst adults with legal problems. For this study, data was considered for family problems likely to be affected by the proposed legal aid reforms. The finding suggest that, far from being exceptional, mental problems feature in a substantial minority of family disputes, raising the potential for a somewhat higher proportion of family disputants to seek exceptional funding on this basis than anticipated by government.
Psychiatric morbidity and people's experience of and response to social problems involving rights
- Authors:
- BALMER Nigel J., PLEASENCE Pascoe, BUCK Alexy
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 18(6), November 2010, pp.588-597.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Psychiatric morbidity is associated with the increased reporting of a range of social problems involving legal rights. Using a validated measure of psychiatric morbidity, this study investigates the relationship between psychiatric morbidity and rights problems and discusses the implications for the delivery of health and legal services. New representative national survey data from the English and Welsh Civil and Social Justice Survey (CSJS) surveyed 3,040 adults in 2007 to explore the relationship between the self-reported incidence of and behaviour surrounding, rights problems. It was found that the prevalence of rights problems increased with psychiatric morbidity, as did the experience of multiple problems. It was also found the likelihood of inaction in the face of problems increased with psychiatric morbidity, while the likelihood of choosing to resolve problems without help decreased. Where advice was obtained, psychiatric morbidity was associated with a greater tendency to obtain a combination of `legal' and `general' support, rather than legal advice alone. The authors suggest that integrated and outreach services are important to the effective support of those facing mental illness.
Health inequality and access to justice: young people mental health and legal issues
- Authors:
- PLEASENCE Pascoe, BALMER Nigel J., HAGELL Ann
- Publisher:
- Youth Access
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 33
- Place of publication:
- London
This report presents findings from new analysis of English and Welsh Civil and Social Justice Panel Survey (CSJPS) data, of the relationship between mental illness and social disadvantage among young people, with a particular focus on the experience of those facing legal issues. The findings indicate that while young people, in general, are least likely to experience mental illness those not in education, employment or training (NEETs) are far more likely to do so than other young people, and somewhat more likely than those aged 25 to 59. The findings also indicate that the experience of social welfare related legal issues (and legal issues in the round) is associated with higher rates of mental illness. Importantly, the study found that NEETs who experience legal issues are associated with particularly high rates of mental illness. ‘Social isolation’ (whether or not young people had an adult aged 25 or over in their household), when looked at in place of NEET status, was also found to be associated with mental illness. However, the likelihood of mental illness among isolated young people was similar to that of 25 to 59 year olds in general. Young isolated NEETs reporting legal issues had the highest incidence of mental illness, though numbers were small. On the basis of model simulation this group was predicted to have 45% mental illness prevalence, rising to 49% when social welfare law related issues were reported. Finally, analysis of change in mental health between waves of the CSJPS indicated that mental health deteriorates as new legal issues emerge. There were some indications that deterioration is particularly severe for disadvantaged young people, though the numbers of respondents was too small to draw conclusions with confidence. (Edited publisher abstract)
The legal problems and mental health needs of youth advice service users: the case for advice
- Authors:
- BALMER Nigel J., PLEASENCE Pascoe
- Publisher:
- Youth Access
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 45p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Youth Access commissioned this survey of clients of youth advice agencies to investigate the social welfare related legal problems faced by these clients and to measure their mental well-being. The report describes the background and study methodology, and presents the results. 188 young people with social welfare problems were surveyed in youth advice settings across 16 sites throughout England and Wales in May and June 2012. A questionnaire was used to collect information about the nature of problems, the type of help the young people were seeking, the consequences of the problems on their lives, and whether they felt the advice had led to improvements. The survey included screening for common mental illnesses. The report includes a profile of young people in youth advice settings, and presents the findings about the mental health of young people in youth advice settings, the impact of problems on young people's lives, what clients were seeking and their expectations of advice, improvements with advice, and the cost effectiveness of advice. The results indicated high levels of mental illness among young people attending for social welfare advice.