Mr. Nick Henderson:

On the first question, I do not know whether anybody knows whether this will work or not. It is two years away and a very complex piece of legislation. Much can change in that time. We are a member of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, which is the umbrella body for refugee organisations in Europe. One of its main points is that we do not know whether this will work as a piece of legislation. There is great expectation on it. It seems there is a relentless intent at a European Union level to reform and reform, as opposed to implement what we have. The European Commission is very reluctant to intervene when member states do not implement what they are supposed to. We do not have an expectation that they would do so in this next round. I would moderate the lure that this would get us out of the existing challenges we face.

As to the resourcing, the chairperson delegate of the Legal Aid Board appeared before the committee earlier and one of our critical calls in every budget is to ensure adequate resourcing of the Legal Aid Board.