Post by nickd on Jan 21, 2011 22:26:13 GMT 1
We're hard at work on mylegal raising the profile of Legal Aid work as best we can. The New Statesman magazine (which is on sale in most newsagents and can be looked at on-line too) ran an interesting major article on the effect the cuts are having on key front line public service workers, amongst which they included - The Doctor - The Policeman - The Teacher - The Postman - The Social Worker and......The Legal Aid Worker.
At South Hams CAB we contacted their editorial team and within a few days it's out there on the new stands, it even gets a big mention under the banner heading ' State of emergency' on the front page.
Here's the article
“The Legal Aid Worker
“They say our work could be done by volunteers – but filing cabinets of filing cabinets of complex cases tell me otherwise”
At the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) where I work in South Hams, Devon, we are heavily reliant on legal aid funding. A lot of our work is difficult, complicated and unglamorous. Dealing with people’s problems over entitlement to benefits, or their debts, or – in conjunction with the charity Shelter – specialist housing help.
The Government wants to make immediate savings by cutting all civil legal aid budgets by 10% - and, by 2014/2015, it hopes to save £350 million a year across the country. Our legal aid service costs each person in the three districts we cover just 94p a year, so we think we’re good value for money already. But the coalition says that the work we do isn’t specialist and could be picked up by volunteers. Filing cabinets of very complex cases tell me otherwise.
The cuts mean that we won’t be able to help people like Tom in the future. Tom is in his thirties and is severely autistic. His mother came to us after his mobility payment was stopped because he is living in community residential care. We strongly disagreed with the decision: the money helps carers take Tom, who is unable to speak, out in a specially adapted bus. Without it, he is unlikely to see much of the outside world. What would his quality of life be like?
Tom’s case, which began in 2008, has now reached the upper tribunal in London. Despite the length of time and complexity of the case, we at the CAB are paid only a fixed fee of £167 by the state to deal with it. But even that might not be available in the future. The government’s plans will hit people such as Tom and his mother hard. Not only will they have to deal with cuts to benefits, but there will be much less funding to help them if those cuts are unjust.
Nick Dilworth is a legal aid casework supervisor in Devon. To find out more about the Justice for All Campaign, visit: justice- for – all.org.uk”
Don't just read the article, join the on-line blog on New Statesman (it's very easy to register and is free) where I've given Mylegal a much deserved plug.
www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/01/workers-speak-books-fears
Use this chance to tell a wider audience what you think and spread the word about the good work Mylegal and Justice for All are doing to preserve Legal Aid
At South Hams CAB we contacted their editorial team and within a few days it's out there on the new stands, it even gets a big mention under the banner heading ' State of emergency' on the front page.
Here's the article
“The Legal Aid Worker
“They say our work could be done by volunteers – but filing cabinets of filing cabinets of complex cases tell me otherwise”
At the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) where I work in South Hams, Devon, we are heavily reliant on legal aid funding. A lot of our work is difficult, complicated and unglamorous. Dealing with people’s problems over entitlement to benefits, or their debts, or – in conjunction with the charity Shelter – specialist housing help.
The Government wants to make immediate savings by cutting all civil legal aid budgets by 10% - and, by 2014/2015, it hopes to save £350 million a year across the country. Our legal aid service costs each person in the three districts we cover just 94p a year, so we think we’re good value for money already. But the coalition says that the work we do isn’t specialist and could be picked up by volunteers. Filing cabinets of very complex cases tell me otherwise.
The cuts mean that we won’t be able to help people like Tom in the future. Tom is in his thirties and is severely autistic. His mother came to us after his mobility payment was stopped because he is living in community residential care. We strongly disagreed with the decision: the money helps carers take Tom, who is unable to speak, out in a specially adapted bus. Without it, he is unlikely to see much of the outside world. What would his quality of life be like?
Tom’s case, which began in 2008, has now reached the upper tribunal in London. Despite the length of time and complexity of the case, we at the CAB are paid only a fixed fee of £167 by the state to deal with it. But even that might not be available in the future. The government’s plans will hit people such as Tom and his mother hard. Not only will they have to deal with cuts to benefits, but there will be much less funding to help them if those cuts are unjust.
Nick Dilworth is a legal aid casework supervisor in Devon. To find out more about the Justice for All Campaign, visit: justice- for – all.org.uk”
Don't just read the article, join the on-line blog on New Statesman (it's very easy to register and is free) where I've given Mylegal a much deserved plug.
www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/01/workers-speak-books-fears
Use this chance to tell a wider audience what you think and spread the word about the good work Mylegal and Justice for All are doing to preserve Legal Aid