Press Releases pre-May 2010

People facing debt, housing and family problems could soon get easier access to legal advice under Legal Services Commission (LSC) proposals out today that would change the way it buys civil legal aid services.

A consultation document on the procurement and delivery of legal aid services from 2010 onwards outlines how, in future, the LSC wants to buy bundles of certain types of advice on commonly linked legal problems to mirror how people experience them. 

Legal categories do not reflect the way people experience problems and research shows that many people stop seeking the help they need when they are constantly referred on.

In the past, for example, someone suffering crippling debt who could then not meet their housing payments which led to family tensions may have had to seek help from multiple law firms and advice agencies to deal with all their problems.

Now, where possible, the LSC wants people to be able to access a seamless service through one contact point that covers their connected problems and offers everything from basic advice to legal representation in the highest courts.

Commenting on the proposals. LSC Chief Executive, Carolyn Regan, said:

“Increasingly the LSC is a commissioner of legal aid services. That is, we play the role of the demanding consumer on behalf of the people who need help. By doing that we ensure that legal aid gives people fair access to justice when they need it but cannot afford it.

"These proposals are also about securing value for money for the taxpayer at a time when both individual and government budgets are under strain. Legal aid is a vital service that could be needed by anyone who becomes vulnerable.”

"We want to maintain and improve access to advice while ensuring a workable system for providers. We have listened to providers’ views and we are proposing a gradual change towards our aims for civil legal aid services that we set out in our strategy two years’ ago. This gives them time to make the transition.”

By working more closely with other linked public services and matching their geographical boundaries we can achieve a more user-friendly service.

For example, we propose buying debt, housing and welfare benefits advice as a bundle through 134 new procurement areas in England and Wales – which loosely reflect local authority areas. In specialist legal categories, like mental health for example, our buying zones would match the appropriate authorities – like current NHS Strategic Health Authorities.”

This consultation is a stepping-stone toward the LSC’s ultimate aim of single Social Welfare Law contracts in the 134 areas. That means all five categories of law could eventually be bought together.

Under these proposals, expert ‘Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme’ practitioners will continue to deliver free, last-minute help in courts to anyone about to lose their home or be evicted by their landlord.

The LSC accepts that smaller providers could find it difficult to widen their area of expertise so we suggest a consortium approach. This would allow several applicants to jointly bid to supply the broader range of services.

Media information

Michaela Keating
LSC Press Officer
Tel: 020 7783 7221 

Notes to editors

1. the consultation paper is available on the CLS > Civil consultations pages
2. the concept of delivering civil legal advice in this integrated way was first set out in 2006 in the LSC’s Community Legal Service strategy: Making Legal Rights a Reality
3. the five social welfare categories are: housing, debt, employment, welfare benefits and community care.