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People facing problems like homelessness or domestic abuse will have better access to legal aid, Legal Services Commission (LSC) announced today, following its decision to buy at least 40,000 extra cases of face-to-face civil legal aid.

At least 10,000 more Family Law cases, particularly domestic abuse and public law children, and 30,000 cases of Social Welfare Law³ will be priorities in our invitations to tender for work which is additional to that which legal aid providers are already delivering under their current contracts.

This extra £10 million for civil legal aid is available as a result of ongoing efficiencies in the legal aid system.

In recent years, our contracted providers of solicitors firms and not-for-profit organisations in England and Wales have increased the number of civil legal aid cases they do. The 40,000 extra cases this year will ensure that growth continues.

Carolyn Regan, the LSC’s Chief Executive said:

“More money for more help for more people is great news. We know from independent research that many people have multiple problems at the same time. That is why we are prioritising this funding for those organisations that can address a range of legal problems, minimising the need for onward referrals between agencies.

“In the past, someone suffering from domestic abuse for example, may have had to seek help from three or more law firms and advice agencies in order to deal with housing, debt or other problems stemming from their situation. We want people using the services to be able to access everything, from basic advice to legal representation in the highest courts, all through one contact point. 

“We will ensure that legal aid is available where it is needed most and can make the most difference to people’s lives. People experiencing domestic abuse are a priority for this funding. We are also working with Women’s Aid and Refuge to design a pilot scheme that will give legal aid advice to women living in refuge accommodation.

“This is a real opportunity for any legal aid providers wishing to expand their business, and will help us deliver the services that clients need.”

The LSC will invite tenders to deliver services across England and Wales where we want to build provision, or expand certain types of services.

By doing this the LSC aims to:

• Increase the percentage of population with access to a provider of Legal Help
• Increase the total number of cases provided by legal aid providers
• Increase spend in areas where our information suggests provision is weakest

The priority services to be delivered are:

• Family services –particularly Domestic Abuse and Public Law Children
• Social Welfare Law from providers who can provide integrated services for clients in at least three Social Welfare Law categories

This push for integrated civil legal aid services compliments the LSC’s work to create Community Legal Advice centres and networks offering joined up legal aid services.

Our invitations to tender will be published on Thursday 10 July 2008 and the deadline for submitting tenders will be Thursday 7 August 2008.

Media information

Please contact: Michaela Keating Tel: 020 7759 0444 

1. Full details of all the invitations to tender can be found on our website http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/ by following this path: Community Legal Service (CLS)>Tenders.
2. We would like to invite both existing providers and new entrants to the market to tender for these services.
3. Integrated Social Welfare Law includes; community care, debt, employment, housing and welfare benefits. 
   The LSC is actively commissioning these categories of law together following research from the independent Legal Services Research Centre 2006 study, Causes of Action Research.  The findings showed that people often experience multiple problems at the same time but that traditional services do not mirror this and people are often forced to visit up to three or four separate providers to treat all of their linked problems. If a person has a housing problem they are more likely to also have, for example, a debt and employment or welfare benefits problem.  Causes of Action showed three principal and distinct problem clusters. These are:

• ‘Family’ (domestic abuse, divorce, relationship and children problems.)
• Homelessness’ (rented housing, homelessness and benefits.)
• ‘Economic’ (money & debt, consumer, and employment problems.)
  An understanding of clustering can help us to develop advice and legal services that address people’s related needs.