When the coalition Government went into "cuts" mode it was pretty clear pretty quickly that it planned to brook no argument about what had to go. With the exception of spending cuts deemed to be politically unacceptable, like axing school milk for little ones, being tough was the watchword. Consultation had to take a back seat.

There is a school of thought that says it's the right approach. Start debating about where reductions ought to be made and you will hear 101 reasons from every single special interest group and affected organisation about why it shouldn't be in their particular area. It's a recipe for stagnation. But such a single-minded approach can also lead to horrible mistakes. And it looks as if just such an error has been made with the decision to drastically cut back on legal aid as it will affect families seeking representation at vital hearings to decide on whether or not children might be taken into care.

In predominantly urban areas the cutbacks might not be too damaging. But there is already strong evidence to suggest that in Devon and Cornwall significant miscarriages of justice could take place with children being wrongly removed from the family home or mistakenly allowed to stay with potentially disastrous results.

Overall the number of legal aid suppliers is to be slashed from 2,400 to 1,300. In parts of the Westcountry what amounts to a 40 per cent cut across Britain will be more like an 80 per cent cut. Experts fear that parents who are unable to find a lawyer ready to represent them under legal aid will resort to trying to argue their own case, when they are simply not equipped to do so.

Caroline Little, who spoke to the Western Morning News about the issue, has no axe to grind other than the best interests of children who find themselves, through no fault of their own, at the centre of these kinds of cases. She described the cuts as "madness." The charity Barnardos, also interested only in the well being of children, warned that the already unacceptably long delay in getting cases involving children through the courts would be extended still further as a result of the cutbacks. It warned more youngsters could be trapped in "desperate limbo, unclear of their future and very possibly at risk."

There is an appeals process in place to try to overturn the cutbacks and ensure more solicitors retain legal aid contracts so they can continue to practice in this very specialised and sensitive area of the law. Unless that appeal is successful, however, the changes will come into effect in mid-October. The implications are alarming.

Last week David Cameron stepped in to halt proposals to scrap the free school milk for primary school children. Mindful of the chants of "Thatcher, Thatcher milk snatcher" which haunted his predecessor when she made similar cuts in the 1970s, he was anxious to avoid a bad press. Given the choice, however, vulnerable children might rather have the best legal representation instead of a free drink of milk.