Citizens Advice response to the Ministry of Justice’s Study of legal advice at local level
Teresa Perchard, Director of Public Policy at Citizens Advice welcomed the publication of the report saying:
“This study clearly recognises the importance of legal advice and the role it plays in allowing people to access justice, improving people’s lives and making society fairer, particularly in times of recession and subsequent recovery.
“Indeed the report highlights how demand for legal advice has increased as a result of the recession. We see this through our own work in communities where we are seeing increasing numbers of problems relating to employment - issues such as redundancy which has increased by 114% in the past year. Our experience on the ground also backs up the Legal Services Research Centre’s view that unemployment is associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing problems related to rights. More people will therefore need legal advice as the recession continues.
“As our workload increases it is vital that we are able to get on with the job and so we warmly welcome the commitment in this report that the Government will look urgently at ways of reducing excessive burdens of bureaucracy and monitoring requirements that advice agencies are under. This could ensure more resources are used to deliver advice – this study found that the burden of bureaucracy had increased in many local advice agencies as a result of the latest reforms to how legal aid services are funded.
“We are also pleased too to see that the jury is out on the introduction of Community Legal Advice Centres and Networks (CLACs and CLANs) – and that the government is concerned about the impact of these services on other local advice services. But we are disappointed the opportunity was not taken to advocate other ways that local advice services could work together in a more joined-up way.CABs and other local advice agencies are already leading the way with many local advice partnerships under development without the need for a top down approach from Government. This was an opportunity to provide more recognition and support for those developments and it may have been missed.”
Citizens Advice also welcomed commitments given in the report to keep a range of developments under review; find ways to ensure that organisations handling the most complex cases were adequately funded to meet their costs and to explore ways of ensuring that important complementary work, such as campaigning for change and public legal education could be funded and encouraged across the country.
Teresa added:
“This report has provided a valuable stock take of some key developments in the delivery of legal aid services, and some important opportunities for improvement have emerged from it. Whilst we look forward to working with the Ministry of Justice as they take forward the implementation of their recommendations we are disappointed that the Study has not begun to address the real challenges facing the legal aid system of improving access for people and places and on problems where we know there is simply inadequate provision to meet needs – such as many rural areas, or in areas of legal advice such as community care.”
Notes to editors:
- The Citizens Advice service is a network of independent charities that helps people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers.
For more information in England and Wales www.citizensadvice.org.uk
For more information and 2008/9 service statistics see Introduction to the service
For 2008/9 service highlights see the Citizens Advice service impact report
For 2008/9 social policy campaigning highlights see the Citizens Advice social policy impact report
- The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
- Most Citizens Advice service staff are trained volunteers, working at over 3,300 locations across England and Wales.
- Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2 million clients on 6 million problems from April 2008 to March 2009
- Advice and information www.adviceguide.org.uk
- Volunteer hotline 08451 264264 (local rate)
- Citizens Advice Guide to your rights, second edition: January 2008 - over 600 pages of practical, independent CAB advice. An invaluable resource for any bookshelf - available from all good bookshops; price £11.99; ISBN: 9780141034089
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