Written evidence from the Nottingham Law
Centre (AJ 50)
WHO WE
ARE
Nottingham Law Centre, formerly known as Hyson Green
Law Centre, has been providing free, accessible, accountable and
effective specialist service in areas of law that have the greatest
impact on disadvantaged sections of the community, since 1982.
Nottingham Law Centre seeks to empower local people
by promoting legal solutions to many of the problems they face.
As a legal practice we are constituted as an independent
charity and a company limited by guarantee. We are directly accountable
to the communities we service through a Board of Trustees drawn
from local communities. The Manager and Senior Solicitor manage
the Law Centre.
WHAT WE
DO
We help people in Nottingham transform their lives.
We offer specialist legal advice, casework and representation
in debt, employment, housing and welfare benefits law. We tailor
our service to the needs of every person or group we help, often
assisting them with several problems at once. We are experts at
helping the most vulnerable.
We help to transform communities. We spot trends
in Nottingham's communities' needs and respond by raising awareness
about legal rights, influencing social policy and supporting community
groups. We are part of local networks of advice organisations.
We help to transform society. We seek out test cases
and pursue them all the way to the highest courts if necessary.
We work with our communities for social change within a wide national
movement of over 54 Law Centres.
WHY IT
WORKS
Our in depth knowledge of the law and local communities
means we can identify the most effective way to solve people's
problems - and to prevent others from experiencing similar problems
in the future. Our expertise and experience save time and money.
For every £1 spent by Law Centres on a typical
housing case, £10 of 'social value' is created through benefits
to the local community and savings to the government.
Every eviction avoided by Law Centres is estimated
to save the taxpayer over £34,000.[1]
SPECIALIST &
GENERALIST SERVICE
1 April 2009 - 31 March 2010
| No of clients seen |
2,380 |
| Debt | 430 |
| Employment | 126 |
| Housing | 885 |
| Welfare Benefits | 939 |
HOUSING COURT
DUTY POSSESSION
SCHEME
1 April 2009 - 31 March 2010
THURSDAY EVENING
LEGAL CLINIC
1 April 2009 - 31 March 2010
| Income for 2010-11 | £528,065
|
| LSC | £308,869 |
| Income for 2011-12 | £479,979
|
| LSC | £225,869 |
If we factor in the 10% cut in fees from November 2011 we will
lose an additional £9,311. This means an 11% decrease in
LSC income between FY10 and FY11.
Cuts in local authority spending mean an additional loss of income
of £16,700, representing a 10 % cut. Increases in certificated
work will reduce the overall impact of the cuts to 11%.
If the proposed cuts go ahead we will reduce our contract to Housing
only; a further loss of £111,211. This means that we face
a 37% reduction in legal aid income in FY12, and the figure will
be even higher taking into account local authority cuts.
The bottom line is that this could mean we are no longer able
to serve 700 desperate people if the legal aid reforms go ahead,
and 980 people including local authority cuts. As we are not the
only agency in Nottingham contracted by the LSC to provide legal
advice, these figures will increase considerably.
January 2011
1
Nef Consulting, The Socio-Economic Value of Law Centres, October
2008. Back
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