Written evidence from the Law Centres
Federation (AJ 40)
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Law Centre movement will provide two
oral witnesses to the Committee's Inquiry on Access to Justice
on 1 February 2011. A frontline Law Centre and Law Centres Federation
will be available to answer the Committee's line of inquiry based
on the evidence which we and other members of Advice Services
Alliance (ASA) contributed to ASA's submission to the Inquiry.
We have also agreed to testify to how legal aid helped individuals,
like those in our case studies below, to access justice.
1.2 We believe that the Government's proposals
for legal aid reform would cut the best value-for-money legal
advice. Preventative and early advice is already being cut in
many areas, and a further 53% cut to legal help is proposed. Yet
early intervention brings the best outcomes for clients, and can
save up to £10 for every £1 invested.
1.3 Law Centres are the UK's oldest, free, expert,
community-run legal services provider, operating for over 40 years.
We serve over 120,000 desperate people per year in their communities,
and many of those people will be disproportionately affected by
the cuts according to the Ministry of Justice's impact assessment.
1.4 The Ministry of Justice proposes a number
of alternatives to legal aid funding, but these are not suitable,
available or affordable for the most vulnerable. Those we work
with prefer face-to-face rather than telephone advice. People
on low incomes will not afford to travel longer distances. Legal
costs insurance will not reach the poorest.
2. LAW CENTRES
2.1 Law Centres are not-for-profit legal practices.
We are independent and directly accountable to the communities
we serve through committees of local people.
2.2 We defend the legal rights of local people
who cannot afford a lawyer. We help them to save their homes,
keep their jobs and protect their loved ones. We work with our
communities to tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality.
2.3 Law Centres:
- are staffed by lawyers and caseworkers who specialise
in the areas of civil law most relevant to our communities;
- tailor our services to the needs of every person
or group we help, often assisting them with several problems at
once;
- offer both legal advice and representation through
to the highest courts if necessary;
- tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality
through test cases, public legal education, influencing social
policy and campaigning for social change.
2.4 Our in depth knowledge of the law and local communities
means we can identify the most effective way to solve problems
- and to prevent similar problems in the future. Our expertise
and experience save time and money. Every eviction avoided by
Law Centres is estimated to save the taxpayer over £34,000.
3. CASE-STUDIES
FROM LAW
CENTRES ON
ACCESS TO
JUSTICE
3.1 Under the Green Paper's proposals legal aid
will no longer fund advice and representation for cases such as
the following. None of these clients could have represented themselves
nor achieved the outcomes below.
3.2 Simon retained his job:
Simon was fired from a large retail chain for making
a minor mistake, despite having worked there for eight years.
He had made a mistake on the till one day, which
had cost the store a very small amount of money. His employer
treated this as an issue of gross misconduct and, following an
investigation and a disciplinary meeting, dismissed him without
notice.
Simon felt he had been treated unfairly and went
to Tower Hamlets Law Centre hoping for help to get his job back.
The Law Centre advised him of his right to claim unfair dismissal
and wrongful dismissal and agreed to represent him.
As a result, he was reinstated in his job and compensated
for lost earnings. Simon is now back at work and getting on with
his life.
3.3 Patience gained her freedom:
Patience was kept as a domestic slave in London after
her employer confiscated her passport, physically attacked her
and stopped her from leaving the house.
She had to work 16 hours a day, seven days a week
and, in three years, was paid no more than a few hundred pounds.
North Kensington Law Centre helped her to gain compensation
at the employment tribunal. She is now getting on with her life
and working with the Law Centre to campaign for an end to domestic
slavery in the UK.
3.4 Tariq escapes bullying:
Tariq was severely bullied at school and was refused
admission to an alternative school.
Tower Hamlets Law Centre drafted submissions to the
Independent Appeal Panel setting out his case. Tariq was suffering
from psychosomatic pains and general distress.
The Independent Appeal Panel allowed the appeal and
he was admitted to the alternative school of his choice.
Tariq now continues his education, free from the
severe stress of bullying.
3.5 David gets the right education:
David has an autistic spectrum disorder and has been
issued with a statement of special educational needs. He was excluded
from school after an outburst, caused by his condition.
Like many autistic children, he finds it difficult
to deal with others when he is stressed. In June, David acted
out, which was wrong and he was ashamed. He got excluded permanently
from the school, despite it being the only school in the area
with a specialist unit for children with autism.
David missed out on schooling between June and November
as there were no other school facilities for a child with his
needs.
After an appeal was refused by the school governors,
David's parents sought legal advice from Cumbria Law Centre. A
solicitor advised on grounds of appeal and spoke to the family
and educational professionals who had worked with David to get
a clear picture on the options for his future schooling.
The solicitor then helped David's father put his
case to an Independent Appeal Panel. He won, and David is now
back at school for the first time in five months.
Without expert legal intervention we strongly suspect
that the appeal would have been lost, and David would still be
out of school, deprived of the vital specialist support that could
be the making or breaking of his young life.
January 2011
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