|
Post by nickd on Jan 28, 2011 17:22:47 GMT 1
On this thread we'll be following the impact upon the advice industry by listing details of agencies who have already had their funding cut or fear cuts in the near future. This is the list we don't want to see grow - but it's important to track where agencies have already fallen or are likely to fall in the future. We'll also look at where new agencies come to light as potential front runners on the advice front line.
Please post details if this is the unfortunate situation your agency finds itself in, we appreciate that some of you may not like to post your name or area - in which case you can do so on an anonymous basis - although to get the real picture it would be good if you could provide information so that we can use it to collect illustrative and evidenced based data, this helps to highlight the areas where advice 'deserts' are becoming prevalent. Please bear in mind this is a public forum and the information you post will be seen by others.
It's a mapping exercise, if enough information is provided we can use it to compile a spreadsheet which will be useful in contesting these cuts.
We are only looking for information on here about advice agencies who provide advice in social welfare law categories (Debt, Welfare Benefits, Housing, Employment, Housing, family etc) - it doesn't matter how you/they are funded. What we need to know is the impact it will have upon everyone.
People who have used these services or fear the loss of advice services in their area can also tell us about how it will affect them.
Agencies - if you are posting:
(A) it will be helpful to include your name, area and the social welfare law categories which will be affected.
(b) tell us when it will happen
(c) Let us know how many people (both clients and staff) you think will affected.
(d) Tell us what form form of funding is being cut - i.e. LSC Legal Aid/Local Council/County Council/Project Funding/other
(e) Whether you think anyone else can cover the gap in service left by withdrawal of your services.
Please make sure you have the permission of your agency to post any information which they may not want to be aired on a public forum.
Clients (past and present) and service users
Remember you don't need to give your name, just tell us a little bit about your fears over the loss of advice services in your area. It would be helpful if you could tell us a bit about the following:
(a) What kind of help you receive/have received (such as debt advice, housing, benefits etc)
(b) The area you come from
(c) Whether you think you will be able to go elsewhere for help.
Many thanks for your help and for posting
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 28, 2011 18:36:27 GMT 1
Birmingham CAB set to close in February as posted by Patrick on the 26/1/2011 The BBC website reports: Birmingham's Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB) offices will close in three weeks unless it can raise £50,000 per month to continue. The centre says that without the money its five "open door" offices, which provide drop-in advice sessions to the public, will shut on 11 February. A CAB spokesman said the city council had decided to end its funding, worth £600,000 per year. The council said it had made it clear funding could not be guaranteed. Last year, the service helped 56,000 people. Yvonne Davies, chief executive officer for Birmingham's CAB said: "We simply cannot operate the service without funding." Ms Davies said Birmingham was the largest Citizens' Advice Bureau in the country, also delivering a hospital outreach service, outlets in children centres and offering specialist advice about debt and welfare benefits. "Many of the areas serviced by our Bureaux rank as the most deprived in the country," she said. The CAB's open door service is maintained by money from the city council, she said. She added the council had decided to cut all funding used to support free and independent advice services. Instead, the authority is to designate a smaller pot of money open to bids from the organisations which will be allocated in £50,000 blocks. These will not be available until at least August, she said. Read the full article: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-12279218Read more: mylegal.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=frontline&action=display&thread=125#ixzz1CLux9kaj
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 28, 2011 18:51:11 GMT 1
Read of the reaction to the Birmingham threat of closure, an article from the Birmingham Post has opposition leaders challenging the Council's decision:The article states: "Birmingham’s opposition Labour leader has called on the ruling Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition to resign after it emerged the city’s five Citizen’s Advice Bureau offices are to close next month following the withdrawal of council funding. Labour group leader Sir Albert Bore said that the council was targeting frontline services for the city’s most vulnerable people by cutting a £600,000 grant to the CAB. Coun Bore (Ladywood) said: “They should resign. Yes, there is a major, unavoidable cut to the city council budget for 2011-2 following on from the Government’s reductions in grant support of £170 million, but that does not give the Tory-Lib Dem coalition in Birmingham the green light to take away the funding from the Birmingham Citizen’s Advice Bureau and many other third sector organisations." Read More www.birminghampost.net/news/politics-news/2011/01/28/call-for-birmingham-council-leaders-to-resign-over-closure-of-cab-offices-65233-28068998/#ixzz1CLzA9oI2A surprising reaction to this was apparently made - suggesting the CAB was just out to make a political point! - whether there is any truth in this remark being made is something which remains to be seen, I never trust what I read in the paper - but it's in the article.
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 29, 2011 21:50:46 GMT 1
'Debt Disaster' in York
York CAB is hit by the news that Financial Inclusion Funding will create a 'Debt Disaster' in the York area.Here's what they have to say.... "Debt worker Kevin Butler said: “The smallest total debt was £700 with the largest debt being close to £200,000. “Debts can occur because of such problems as job loss, relationship or health breakdown. “The FIF scheme has helped many people desperate to resolve their debt problems and wanting to be able to move on with their lives without the threat of serious action from their creditors.” He said he feared further public-sector redundancies and the expected rise in interest rates meant the CAB believed demand would soar rather than fall in the short to medium term. George Vickers, chief executive of York CAB, said people had sent notes and cards saying how it had helped them turn their lives around. “One client wrote: ‘It’s so nice now not to have all the stress and worry and now I have learned to live within my budget, etc.’ “A woman, thanking us for help with bankruptcy, wrote: ‘I couldn’t have done it without you’. “If the Government does not decide to reverse this decision the people of York will lose this invaluable service.” Read the full article www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8819011.___Debt_disaster____alert_as_Citizens_Advice_Bureau_cuts_loom/This is what was said of this in a House of Commons debate this month.Questions in the house - Mr Gyimah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the future of the Financial Inclusion Fund. [35348] Karl Turner: "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for funding the Financial Inclusion Fund after April 2011." [35851] Mr Hoban: "The Financial Inclusion Fund will close at the end of March this year. The Government will work closely with industry and other stakeholders to ensure that tackling financial exclusion remains a high priority." The axe is falling in all directions - not just Legal Aid for debt work - where will people go for proper advice?
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 29, 2011 22:13:17 GMT 1
Here's what Bolton CAB said back in November 2010 - shortly after the cuts were announced.
"Barry Lions, of Bolton CAB, said legal aid makes up 65% of its income. The Ministry of Justice said, under their plans, the most vulnerable people would still be given legal aid. The proposals, which are open for consultation until February, are intended to cut the legal aid bill by £350m a year by 2015. Aid will be cut for divorce, welfare benefits, school exclusion appeals, employment, immigration where the person is not detained, clinical negligence and personal injury. It is thought there will be 500,000 fewer civil cases as a result. Mr Lions said Bolton CAB gave 14,000 people advice on debt, welfare benefits, housing issues, unemployment problems and immigration last year." We believe that the taxpayer should continue to provide legal aid to those who need it most and for serious issues” "The value of our work is that by helping people out and sorting people's problems out quickly, we save an awful lot of cash to the tax payer by not allowing problems to escalate," he said. "The amount of money that is threatened to be cut is so disproportionate to the hit to advice agencies and the hit to vulnerable people." This is what a Ministry of Justice spokesman had to sayA spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: "Access to justice is the hallmark of a civilised society. "But at more than £2bn each year, we currently have one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world. "We believe that the taxpayer should continue to provide legal aid to those who need it most and for serious issues. "Our proposals will ensure that legal aid is provided in cases where a litigant's life is at stake, or involves the loss of liberty, homelessness, physical harm, or in cases involving children being taken into care." He said the Ministry of Justice was also proposing to extend the Community Advice Line as the first point of call for people who need help." Read the BBC article: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11869047
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 29, 2011 22:23:02 GMT 1
Here what was reported over what the Legal Action Group have to say about the proposed cuts in Legal Aid and Financial Inclusion Funding
....... "Legal Action Group has learnt that the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) will end in March. FIF pays for just under 500 debt advisers based in Citizens Advice Bureaux and other not for profit (NFP) advice centres. LAG believes this will be a devastating blow to many of the centres as they are also facing cuts in legal aid and local government grants. The FIF was established in 2004 by the last government. A total of £45m was allocated from the fund to pay for face-to-face advice services in the NFP advice sector to help people facing debt problems. Around 100,000 people a year were assisted by the money advisers paid for by the fund. Most of these advisers now face redundancy. News that the fund was to be discontinued was given by Mark Hoban MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, in response to a written question in the House of Commons. Advice agencies, though, are still waiting for official confirmation that the scheme will end from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which administers the cash. It is difficult to exaggerate the impact of the abolition of the FIF grants. Many in the NFP sector had feared that the fund would discontinue due to public spending cuts. Prior to the election, Labour was making no promises over whether the FIF would continue, but the coalition government is now also planning to discontinue funding for debt advice under the legal aid scheme, except if people are in immediate danger of losing their homes. LAG believes that the decision to cut the FIF and the government’s threat to end legal aid funding for debt advice is remarkably short sighted. Early intervention in debt cases ensures people deal with their money problems before they spiral out of control. Often, when mortgage and rent possession proceedings are imminent, it is too late to keep families in their homes. Aside from the damage this causes to people’s lives, the loss of a family home brings an enormous cost to the state. Shelter, the housing charity, recently calculated that each family forced out of their home costs the state £50,000. Anyone can face money problems caused by the loss of a job or when something else goes wrong in their lives. LAG is calling on the government to establish a commission or review of the services and funding in place to help people with debt and other civil law problems. The FIF decision shows a lack of strategic thinking on civil legal problems by the coalition government. We believe this has to be addressed as a matter of urgency, before more of the services people rely on when they are hit by common legal problems disappear for good. Andy Murray of Unite, the trade union which represents many of the advisers now due to be made redundant, told LAG: 'It is absolutely staggering at a time when City bankers are receiving massive bonuses after being bailed out by the taxpayer that the government decides to withdraw this key support to members of our society in distress. The claim that "We are all in this together" is increasingly hollow.' Update today (24th January). LAG has contacted Phil Jew at Advice UK, the national organisation for independent advice centres. Jew is asking for clarification from the government about the future of funding for debt advice, "Mark Hoban's statement caused alarm by seeming to signal an end to the Government funded face to face debt advice scheme. Such a cut would be a huge blow and would not make economic sense. If there's a possibility of an alternative scheme, we need to know - now!" Read more on what they have to say: legalactiongroupnews.blogspot.com/2011/01/fif-cuts-confirmed.html
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 29, 2011 22:30:58 GMT 1
Droitwich SPA Citizens Advice Bureau speaks out after Council cuts funding:Here's how it was reported: "THE manager of Droitwich Spa’s Citizens Advice Bureau has warned that the organisation could now face closure after council chiefs slashed vital funding. On Tuesday, February 2nd Wychavon District Council’s executive board decided to cut the Wychavon Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) budget for the next two years. From a grant of £60,000 in the current financial year, the council will halve CAB funding to £30,000 per annum. Of this more than £7,000 a year will go straight back to the council in rent for the bureau’s premises at the Hub in Droitwich High Street, where the CAB has increased its service from two to three days a week to try to cope with demand. The CAB group has recently received one-off funding from Advantage West Midlands of £27,000 as part of the Market Towns Initiative. The money is to assist volunteers back into work through in-work training and to provide additional resources to deal with debt, employment and welfare benefits problems. Members see the Advantage West Midlands funding as recognision of the contribution that CAB makes in helping those most in need during the current recession. However, angry CAB workers now feel this money will be totally negated by the massive reduction in district council funding next year. Ruth Davies, manager of Wychavon CAB, said: “Enquiries have risen by 21% in the current year, and 70% of all enquiries relate to debt, welfare benefits and employment. Where will our clients go for free, independent advice if we are forced to close or massively reduce our opening hours?” She also warned that the reduction will probably mean that the organisation will have to close its doors at the end of this year unless other funds are found. Wychavon CAB also has officies in Evesham and Pershore as well as Droitwich Spa. Councillor Bob Banks, executive board member for resources, said: “The council is a major supporter of the valuable work undertaken by Wychavon CAB and its many volunteers. The executive board has recognised this by identifying £60,000 for the CAB over the next 2 years during a period of very difficult budget pressures and will continue to be our largest investment in the voluntary sector. “This proposed grant is not as high as the CAB would like but I am afraid the council is not itself immune to the effects of the recession. I am delighted that the CAB has attracted some new sources of funding, including the recent award from Advantage West Midlands. However, our budget decision is not connected to this announcement and the CAB will be aware that we have been actively working with them, including an investment of £285,000, over the last 4 years to help secure alternative sources of income and reduce their financial reliance on the council. As public sector finance will only be getting tougher in future years we believe this is the only realistic way forward.” Read the article: www.droitwichadvertiser.co.uk/news/5010352.Citizens_Advice_Bureau_could_face_closure_after_council_funding_cuts/
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 29, 2011 22:38:26 GMT 1
Ongar (Essex) CAB was feeling this back in 2009, this is what the press and Ongar were saying back then...."AT a time when demand is greater than it has ever been before, the Ongar branch of the Citizens Advice Bureau is facing a financial crisis that could force it to close within the next six months. An increasing number of people are seeking advice on redundancy, benefits and debt Historically the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has offered free and impartial support and having a branch in Ongar has meant that residents in need do not have to travel out of town. But the branch, located in the town's library, just off the High Street, is in dire straits. Julia Milovanovic, district manager for the CAB, said: "Our funding from the lottery runs out in September. We are currently working really hard to try to secure more funding, but the difficulty is that because of the credit crunch it has all dried up." The Government has provided £39,750 to help Epping Forest District CAB expand its services in Loughton, Epping and Waltham Abbey but the money cannot be used for smaller outreach work in places such as Ongar, despite the growing demand. Ms Milovanovic said: "The CAB in the district as a whole saw more clients from October 2008 to December 2008 than it did in the whole preceding nine months, which shows the increase in people seeking advice is absolutely huge and the branch in Ongar is very well attended." Nationally, the CAB service last year dealt with 5.54 million issues overall and there are fears this figure will grow as more people lose their jobs, get further into debt and risk losing their homes. Explaining how vital the service is, Ms Milovanovic said: "It gives people a chance to seek advice in a time of crisis. "The key thing we would say to people is to see us as early as possible because the later they leave it the worse it gets." Read more about it...... www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/news/ONGAR-Advice-charity-faces-closure/article-863476-detail/article.html
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 29, 2011 22:52:03 GMT 1
Hounslow hit back in February 2010Here's how it was reported last April "Its chair criticises the London borough of Hounslow Council for withdrawing funding A charity law centre forced to cease operating in February with the loss of six jobs because of a lack of funding has criticised its local authority for withdrawing a £72,100 annual grant. Hounslow Law Centre closed after the local council withdrew funding to provide community legal advice amid concerns over governance and financial reporting. It awarded the same sum to another charity law centre, Law for All, which has an office in Hounslow but is based in Acton. lyas Khwaja, chair of Hounslow Law Centre, said his organisation was not poorly run and there was nothing wrong with its accounting. He said the centre's demise could be traced back to the introduction in 2008 of fixed fees by the Legal Services Commission, the non-departmental public body that administers legal aid, which resulted in a £65,000 loss of income that year; the loss of the council's grant was the final straw. A spokeswoman for Hounslow Council declined to discuss the issue." Read the article: www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/archive/996010/Hounslow-Law-Centre-closes-following-loss-grant/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 29, 2011 23:04:18 GMT 1
Plymouth Law Centre goes down the pan...Here's just a little bit of what they had to say about their cut in funding in October 2010: "Plymouth is about to feel the true cost of the recession as Devon Law Centre closes its doors for the last time on October 15th. Hundreds of the city’s most vulnerable people will be left without access to justice. This comes at a time that the Law Centres Federation along with Citizen’s Advice and Unite has launched their campaign Justice for All. Well, not in Plymouth and its surrounding areas. Devon Law Centre is, in effect, a law firm for those amongst us unable to pay high legal bills. The team are all dedicated, hard working and experienced specialist legal advisors in social welfare law. Each member of the team is passionate about access to justice and the rights of the most vulnerable people in society. Devon Law Centre advises people on education, community care, housing, welfare benefits and discrimination in employment and goods and services, immigration, and asylum. As a charity, Devon Law Centre does not charge any of its clients. The closure comes as a result of a combination of factors which all come down to money from government departments at a time when there will be increased demand for the services we provide. The Legal Services Commission recently forced all legal aid providers to tender for their contracts and much has been made in the press about the reduction in family law provision in the area. As a result, there is a serious lack of choice for the public and potential conflicts of interest. The Law Society has issued Judicial Review proceedings in respect of the family tender on the basis that the tender criteria are unlawful but has refused to do so in respect of social welfare law (housing, debt and welfare benefits). Read the full story of the serious impact cuts have already had on Plymouth.... www.devonlawcentre.org.uk/
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 29, 2011 23:46:00 GMT 1
Cornwall is already in danger of becoming an advice desert according to two local solicitors These two experienced solicitors have already expressed concern over Cornwall being turned into an advice desert following reductions in contracts last year. - Will these reforms turn it into a total wilderness?
Here's what the article said: "Vulnerable children and women and men who have suffered domestic abuse will be the main victims of widespread cuts to legal aid provision in the Westcountry, family solicitors have warned. By October, those from low-income families could struggle to access free legal advice as they are forced to travel up to two hours to their nearest solicitor under a major shake-up of the way legal aid is delivered, according to some of the Westcountry's leading law firms. In Cornwall the number of firms that can offer legal aid has been culled by more than three-quarters, with just five companies awarded contracts across the whole county. Solicitors say this will lead to "advice deserts", with some of the county's most vulnerable families potentially being denied access to legal support. Sarah Jopling, a solicitor specialising in family law at Grylls & Paige Solicitors in Redruth, said: "This cull is going to have a massive detrimental impact on vulnerable women, men and children in terms of them not being able to access the support they need." The Legal Services Commission, which runs the Legal Aid scheme in England and Wales, insists the new system, in which firms have to competitively bid for contracts to provide Legal Aid work and meet a set of assessment criteria, works well. It says that, because all categories of legal aid work were oversubscribed, it is simply a case of a smaller number of providers doing broadly the same amount of work. Some 1,300 of the 2,400 family law firms previously doing legal aid work have won new contracts. But in Cornwall the reduction has been significantly greater, with a cut of around 80 per cent. Glennie McKinley, who specialises in family law and crime at the Penzance office of DB Law, said: "The LSC does not understand the geography of Cornwall. "People do not realise how vast an area we have got to cover and the issues we have with public transport. The majority of people on legal aid do not have their own transport" Read the full article and get their account.... www.thisisdevon.co.uk/news/cuts-hurt-need-Legal-Aid/article-2596335-detail/article.html
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 30, 2011 10:13:15 GMT 1
Manchester Law Centres may have to closeTwo Manchester Law Centres faces a serious dilemma after losing out on funding when new contracts were awarded in 2010. They lost out to Citizens Advice Bureau who gained a contract. This isn't about some organisations coming out on top; it's about the dilution of services - ultimately, the losers are those who need the advice - the public. Here's what was said in an article covered by the Guardian.... "Two Manchester-based law centres are at risk of closing their doors to clients for good from next month as they have lost out in a tender to run legal advice services in the city. Manchester City Council and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) decided to reconfigure the cash they currently spend on legal advice services into a competitive tender for a Community Legal Advice Service (CLAS). The tender was won by the city-wide Citizens Advice Bureau service, in partnership with private law firms and an independent advice centre. The council and the LSC argue that the new service, which will operate from six venues in the city, will provide better 'joined-up' services to Manchester residents. They now intend to withdraw funding from next month from South Manchester and Wythenshawe law centres. This is more than likely to force them to close. Based in Longsight, a deprived, ethnically diverse part of the city, South Manchester Law Centre has been established for 36 years. Paul Morris, an immigration case worker at the law xentre, told the Legal Action Group that he and its 14 other staff got their redundancy notices last week. Morris fears that the law centre's clients will be 'driven to sharks and charlatans' if the centre is forced to close. The law centre has launched a campaign to try and persuade the council and the LSC to continue supporting it. 'We are not going down without a fight', says Morris. Gillian Hodges, senior solicitor at Wythenshawe Law Centre, told LAG that while the law centre has not issued redundancy notices to its seven staff yet, it is at 'serious risk of closing'. The law centre has been running for 26 years in Wythenshawe, which is one of the largest council estates in the country. The law centre understands that it scored higher than the successful bidders on quality, but the chairperson of the centre's management committee, Bernard Caine, says the 'council and the LSC have chosen lower cost over quality and it is local residents, including our own families and friends, that will suffer'." Read the full article..... www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/oct/19/manchester-law-centreLegal Aid reforms and wider cuts in funding now puts provision of all advice services at risk for all advice providers/organisations, the creation of advice deserts is all too real. The dilution of services will be watered down to a point where - in many areas - people will have no where to go to for advice.
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 30, 2011 10:37:26 GMT 1
As properly funded services disappear, who will take up the slack - and at what cost? The Office of Fair Trading has already expressed concern by warning private contractors against using names which may mislead those seeking advice. The risk is the public won't realize that they will end up paying a fee.
Here's a bit about the Office of Fair Trading concerns.... "Debt management firms have been told not to suggest they are charities or an official government service. The Office of Fair Trading issued the warning as it told one company not to use names such as the Bankruptcy Helpline or the Insolvency Helpline. The firm, Baker Evans, said it would appeal against the decision. "We have disagreed throughout with the OFT's suggestion that the word 'helpline' infers free or government run," a Baker Evans spokesman said. The OFT told Baker Evans that its proposed new trading names might mislead consumers into believing it was an "impartial" or "non-commercial" body. "Consumers must be able to distinguish commercial debt management companies from free charitable or government services," said Ray Watson of the OFT. "We will not agree to names that could mislead consumers into contacting companies when they might think that they are accessing free advice," he added. However Nick Pearson, a director of Baker Evans, said that no-one would be confused by his firm's suggested names. "We have disagreed with the OFT throughout our long running dispute. It is clear from our website that we are not free," he said. The OFT decision flows from the threat it made in September to 129 debt management firms to change the way they carried out their business. An 11-month investigation found that the industry was riddled with bad practices that damaged the interests of of debt-stricken customers such as: "In some cases, it appears that business models may be set up to take the maximum amount of money from a consumer regardless of their circumstances," the OFT said in September. "Firms are not giving the advice or offering the solution that is in the best interests of the consumer, but instead that which is most profitable to them." Given that Baker Evans appealed, they should be given the benefit of the doubt until the outcome is known, but there's no getting away from the concerns expressed by the Office of Fair Trading. Reductions in proper funding could see these kind of concerns escalate - profit making services may seize the opportunity to make money out of people's misfortunes - this is the reality of what may be left if proper funding ceases.Read the article here....... www.glasgowwired.co.uk/news.php/112679-Debt-management-firm-warned-over-misleading-namesHere's the Office of Fair Trading official press release....www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/today?prid=757838
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 30, 2011 13:54:55 GMT 1
National Housing Federation speaks out about over removal of help for the vulnerable
Here's what the National Housing Federation have to say in a reported article: "NHF: Councils plan `disproportionate` funding cuts for services supporting vulnerable people Monday, 24, Jan 2011 12:39 Councils are planning to defy ministers by pushing ahead with plans to cut funding for services supporting vulnerable people by far more than the government has recommended, according to a survey of over 130 providers in England. Housing associations, charities and community groups fear town halls will raid funds intended to support vital services for groups like the elderly, homeless and disabled, in order to protect other spending priorities, according to the National Housing Federation. The survey reveals 73% of providers have been warned by their local authority to expect disproportionate funding cuts to services which provide support, housing and advice to some of the most vulnerable people in their community, such as women fleeing domestic violence and people with mental health problems. In some circumstances whole services face closure as cash strapped town halls look to make massive savings over the next four years by disproportionately cutting from one budget to fund another. In the Spending Review, the Chancellor announced that money allocated nationally to Supporting People - which funds services for over a million vulnerable people- would be broadly maintained, with a 12% real terms cut over four years. However the money is no longer ring fenced and councils can spend it on whatever they want to as it rolled into their general grant from central government. There is no legal duty to support many of the groups traditionally funded by Supporting People - despite their vulnerability. These include some single homeless people, many older people and those with drug and alcohol addictions. Nottinghamshire council is warning of a 67% cut over the next four years, Somerset council has already confirmed an 18% cut next year. Nottingham City Council has proposed a 43% cut from April this year. Hartlepool Council have been consulting on a cut in funding of 30% from April this year. Cornwall Council has meanwhile confirmed it will reduce its funding by 40% over the next three years." Read the article in full: www.politics.co.uk/opinion-formers/press-releases/housing-and-planning/nhf-councils-plan-%60disproportionate%60-funding-cuts-for-services-supporting-vulnerable-people-$21386822$364344.htmThe BBC gave this some interesting coverage on the South West Politics show. Eric Pickles explained how the money was being earmarked by Central Government. However, he acknowledged that under 'localism' powers given to Local Authorities - Councils would be free to make choices over how it was spent. Cornwall Council leader Alec Robertson spoke of how cuts of up to 40% are being considered in the 'Supporting People'projects - way above what central government are saying. If this is indicative of how low down the list the most vulnerable in society are being regarded - what chance do the rest of us stand? Where else will these unsupported people be able to turn - if they live in areas where the provision of advice becomes extinct or inaccessible?
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 30, 2011 16:24:03 GMT 1
For those who want to know a bit about the history of law centres, the following gives a good account of dates of significance, the question that needs to be asked - what comes next?
Sourced from a helpful chronology by the Law Centres Federation
Significant Dates in the History of Law Centres
1949 The Legal Aid and Advice Act was passed on 30th July 1949 as part of expansion of welfare state after the Second World War.
Legal aid work was supervised by the Law Society and work carried out by solicitors in private practice, concentrating on matrimonial work and criminal legal aid. The Act was preceded by a report by the Rushcliffe Committee in 1945 which made a number of recommendations that led to the establishment of the first legal aid scheme.
1960s to 1970s
1965 Growth of federally funded 'neighbourhood law offices' in USA. Start of Neighbourhood Law Firms as part of Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty".
1968 Society of Labour Lawyers publication "Justice for All".
1970 Opening of North Kensington Law Centres. First Law Centres set up were Brent, Adamsdown in Cardiff, Paddington, Camden, Islington, Brixton, and Balham.
1972 - 1975 First major expansion of Law Centres. Most in urban areas in London and one in Methyr Tydfill in Wales.
1972 Legal Advice and Assistance Act
First public funds - Urban Aid Grant from Department of the Environment.
1974 Towards Equal Justice and Legal Aid Act. Lord Elwyn-Jones appointed Lord Chancellor First grants available from local authorities for Law Centres. Establishment of the Law Centres Working Party.
1975 The Lord Chancellor’s Department (LCD) extended "lifeboat" funding to some Centres who had been dependent on short - term charity funds. (ended in 2003) 1976 Royal Commission on Legal Services established under the chairmanship of Lord Benson. Southwark Law Centre opened.
1977 Standard waiver for Law Centres agreed with the Law Society - First Area Legal Services Committee set up in Manchester
1978 Funding for the LCF provided by the Lord Chancellor's Department (LCD) and the Nuffield Foundation. Two LCF staff employed for training and administration.
Law Centre Working Group changed name to Law Centre Federation. Guidelines for Law Centres were published by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Elwyn-Jones. There were now 27 Law Centres
November - Beginning of Law Centres News which later became ‘Networking’.
1979 Royal Commission on Legal Services Final Report published. Lord Chancellor announced that existing funds would be made available both to support existing Law Centres and to establish new ones.
Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone appointed Lord Chancellor
LCF Rural Conference on Law Centres Hammersmith and Fulham Law Centre became a member of the LCF
1980s
1980 35 Law Centres (24 funded under Urban Programme).
1982 The Department of the Environment ceased to make funds available for new Law Centres
LCF Race & Law Centre Report
1983 Streamlining the Cities was published 46 Law Centres now operating.
1984 The LCF moved to Warren Street office premises on 18th May
54 Law Centres now operating Police and Criminal Evidence Act passed introducing the national duty solicitor scheme in magistrate’s courts. It also introduced a duty solicitor scheme in police stations in 1986. Law Centres had lobbied for the changes.
1985 LCF received additional funding from the Department of the Environment and the Great London Council (GLC). Staff now consisted of a London Liaison and Development, Development worker, Training Worker, External Liaison Officer and Information Worker.
LCF opened an additional office in Birmingham
1986 Efficiency Scrutiny Report. Cuts made to the entitlements to legal aid.
The London Boroughs Grants Scheme replaced GLC funding of the LCF. LCF given funding for a two years Evaluation Project. Project completed by Prof. Gary Craig
Establishment of the Advice Services Alliance. LCF one of the founding members.
1987 Lord Mackay of Clashfern appointed Lord Chancellor
Law Society provide a supporting grant to LCF (to 1991?).
Formation of the National Association of Local Authorities in support of National Funding for Law Centres (Folded 1991) 58 Law Centres now open.
Closing of Birmingham Office and opening of new LCF offices in Manchester and Nottingham.
Advice Services Alliance publish a ‘Go for Advice Manifesto’. The Manifesto adopted the National Consumer Council’s recommendations in NCC’s ‘Good Advice for All’
1988 Legal Aid Act passed. Responsibility of legal aid passed to a new Legal Aid Board (LAB).
Two New Law Centres join the Federation in Oldham and Luton. Smallheath Law Centre in Birmingham closed. There were now 59 Law Centres.
1989 Start of LAB pilots to evaluate franchising. Start of the development of Quality Standards.
‘The Case for Law Centres’ published by LCF Opening of Chesterfield Law Centre.
1990s
1990 Courts and Legal Services Act passed LAB started the Birmingham Franchising pilot. A further pilot was run in 1994. New Law Centres opened in Humberside, Rochdale and Carlisle
1991 Review published by the LCD on the Financial Conditions for Eligibility for Civil Legal Aid. LCF submission made in November
Closure Wolverhampton, Dudley, Wandsworth (later to re-open), Tooting, & Balham, Roehampton & Putney.
LCF received a three-year grant from Department of the Environment to promote environment law in Law Centres. At the end of the funding in 1994 the project became ‘EarthRights’
1992 Closure of Brighton, Ealing & West Hampstead. There are now 55 Law Centres. Closure of LCF offices in Rochdale & Nottingham.
1993 Opening of Sheffield Office and appointment of new development workers.
LCF received three year grant from Department of the Environment to support the development of housing work in Law Centres. Project ended 1996.
1994 Advice Services Alliance launch of Advice 2000.
LAB Research into Alternative Methods of Service Delivery. LCD Fundamental Review of Legal Service LCF International Conference on Public Legal Services held at Kent. LCF Research & publication of "Proving Your Worth".
1995 Green Paper on Legal Aid: Targeting Need and LCF Response. LAB pilot project with 42 non-solicitor agencies launched.
Proposals for Block Contracts out for consultation. Lord Woolf Inquiry into Civil Courts.
Closure of Handsworth & Stockton & Hartlepool Law Centres. Publication of" Your Law Centre A Guide to Management".
1996 White Paper on Legal Aid: Striking the Balance. Consultation on Second Phase Block Contracting in the NfP sector
Appointment of two new Disability Workers with funding from the National Lottery (Project ended in October 1998) Derby Law Centre opens. Now 54 Law Centres and 9 Associate Members.
New rules for Membership introduced.
1997 Lord Irvine of Lairg appointed Lord Chancellor. Middleton Review of Civil Justice and Legal Aid.
Lord Chancellor makes announcement at Law Society Conference on Block Contracting and Community Legal Service.
LCF hold reception (June) in House of Commons - 109 MPs sign EDM in support of access to legal services.
Closure of South Islington Law Centre. There are now 52 Law Centres.
Merger of Highfields & Belgrave & Leicester Rights Centre. Three Law Centres with LSC franchises - Hammersmith & Fulham, Chesterfield & Gloucester.
Gloucester Law Centre is the first Law Centre to receive a NfP Block Contract and Hammersmith & Fulham receives the first Solicitors’ Contract.
1998 Speech by Lord Irvine, the Lord Chancellor on 2nd November on establishing a Community Legal Service. This was followed in December by the publication of the Modernising Justice Bill.
Legal Aid Board issues consultation paper on reforming the civil and assistance scheme: Exclusive Contracting – The Way Forward. LCF submits a response including LCF’s16 principles for Community Legal Service.
Six pioneer areas picked to pioneer the Community Legal Service.
LCF Reception in the House of Commons and EDM (129 signatures).
Law Centres closed in Brixton, Newham, and Stockwell and Clapham.
New Rules for LCF Membership introduced. LCF has 54 members.
Four more Law Centres with Block Contracts; Chesterfield, Cardiff, North Kensington & Wandsworth & Merton.
LCF re-structures and appoints a Director LCF receive three-year funding from National Lottery for Communications Project Funding also received from Tudor Trust, City Parochial and St James' s Trust.
1999 Access to Justice Act passed establishing the Community Legal Service and the Criminal Defence Service. Responsibility for legal aid passed to the Legal Services Commission. Regional Legal Services Offices established.
Consultation on the Community Legal Service issued which included the setting up of Community Legal Service Partnerships. Paths to Justice: What people do and think about going to law. Research by Hazel Genn published
LCF Website launched on 15th June. (Re-launched in 2007)
LCF launches a three-year expansion project with funding for five workers from the National Lottery. Setting up a new LCF office in Manchester (closed in 2002)
2000 1st January 2000, saw the introduction of exclusive contracting. LCF and the Solicitors Pro Bono Group form a partnership to launch LawWorks.
Launch of the Disability Rights Commission.
2001 Opening of Devon Law Centre LAB launch the Partnership Innovation Project Expansion of Telephone Legal Advice Services (later to become CLS Direct) Consultation of a new Specialist Quality Mark Tribunals for Users Consultation Paper published
Pilots started for salaried defenders.
Closure of Middlesbrough Law Centre. Barnet Law Service joins the LCF
Legal and Advice Services: A Pathway out of Social Exclusion launched Launch of LawWorks
2002 Opening of new Law Centres in Bury, Stockport and Trafford
Start of Housing County Court Possession Days Pilot. Specialist Support Services started.
Law Centres obtain Specialist Quality Mark status. Reception in the House of Lord to promote the link between legal services and social inclusion
2003 The name ‘Law Centre’ trademarked
Lord Falconer appointed Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor’s Department became the Department for Constitutional Affairs in June
Parliamentary Inquiry into Legal Aid. LCF gave evidence
Increase of LCF funding from the Association of London Government and the setting up of the London Unit with two workers. Additional grant from the National Lottery to support two workers.
Conversion of eight Law Centre grants (from the DCA) into contracts.
Surrey Law Centre opened with funding from the LSC Partnership Innovation Fund.
LCF Director visits Legal Aid Board in Ontario, Canada
2004 Matrix Research and Consultancy appointed by DCA to review the Community Legal Service Launch of Community Legal Services Direct (later renamed Community Legal Advice) Frontier Economics to provide a market analysis of legally aided services. ‘A New Focus for Civil Legal Aid Cases’ published LCF submission made to the DCA’s Fundamental Legal Aid Review, ‘Law Centres – Action for the community’ in November
Causes of Action: Civil Law and Social Justice published Review of Regulation of Legal Services by Sir David Clementi
LCF submission to the Joint Committee on Human Rights on the setting up a new Commission for Equality and Human Rights
LCF and DCA publish Legal and Advice Services: A Pathway to Regeneration
Enfield Law Centre and Streetlegal Law Centre opened in March
LCF involves in the setting up of the Asylum Support Appeals Project (launched in 2005)
LCF Director visits Argentina, Chile and Uruguay as part of the Argentine-British Dialogue. Publication: Access to justice in the UK and in the Southern Cone published in March 2005
Isle of Wight became a member of the LCF.
Appointment of an LCF Press and Communications worker (to 2005)
2005 DCA White Paper published ‘The Future of Legal Services: Putting the Consumer First.’
LSC publish ‘A Fairer Deal for Legal Aid’ in July.
Early Day Motion on Legal Aid – 116 MPs signed. Law Centre workers and management committee members deliver letter to Downing Street about civil legal aid
Access to Justice Alliance formed (launched in 2006)
Opening of Kirklees Law Centre and Rotherham Law Centre Streetwise Law Centre in Bromley became a full member of the LCF
Establishment of the South West London Law Centre Closure of Humberside Law Centre
Management Training Course launched in London Change Up funding secured for Law Centres in London.
LCF Director visits Australia. Visit sponsored by the Australian Governments’ Attorney General’s Department.
LCF has 58 Law Centres (64 if Law Centre additional outlets are included)
2006 LSC publish consultation ‘Making Legal Rights a Reality’ in March. A strategy for the future of civil legal aid. The paper outlines proposals for Community Legal Advice Centres and Networks.
LCF submits response to LSC consultation on a Preferred Supplier Scheme
Second edition of Causes of Action: Civil Law and Social Justice published by the Legal services Research Centre.
Lord Carter’s Review of Legal Aid Procurement ‘Legal Aid: A Market-Based Approach to Reform’ published in June with LSC\DCA consultation, ‘Legal Aid: A Sustainable Future’. The consultations proposed a new method of payment by standard and graduated fixed fees.
Vera Baird QC appointed to oversee Legal Aid in the DCA. This is the first time a Minister has been given sole responsibility for legal aid. The Minister also has special responsibilities for social exclusion.
New Chief Executive of the LSC appointed in September – Carolyn Regan.
Legal Services Bill published
LCF launches the SORBAEE Project (Sexual Orientation, Religion or Belief and Age Employment Equality). The Project ended at the end of March 2007
LCF secures three year funding for a Disability Rights Project from the Disability Rights Commission. The Project ended at the end of March 2008. Funding also secured for a Young People’s Project (Bridge House Estates Fund) and Policy work in London (City Parochial Trust)
LCF joins the DCA Task Force on Public Legal Education Strategy (PLEAS). Final report published on 10th July 2007.
Cambridge Law Centre (and Huntingdon Law Centre) joined the LCF on 12th November (closed in August 2009)
Authority is given to set up the first Community Legal Advice Centre. The Centre is based in Gateshead and includes Gateshead Law Centre. The CLAC was officially launched on 24th May 2007.
Early Day Motion 537 (Legal Aid Reform), highlighting concern at the likely effects of the government's reform proposals tabled. Law Society launch of ‘What Price Justice’ campaign.
2007 The Solicitors Regulation Authority was established in January 2007.
Constitutional Affairs Committee start an Inquiry into the Implementation of the Carter Review of Legal Aid. LCF put in a submission. The Committee reported their final findings on 1st May. Findings debated in Parliament on 12th July.
31st March 2007 Law Centres agreed to sign the LSC Unified Contract.
Draft Specification for the Unified Contact published in March. LCF submitted their response.
A new Ministry of Justice takes over the Department for Constitutional Affairs on 9th May. New Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State, Jack Straw appointed in July 2007 following Gordon Brown taking over as Prime Minister. Lord Hunt of Kings Heath OBE takes over responsibility for Legal Aid.
Access to Justice Alliance start ‘Justice – Access Denied’ campaign with a week of action starting on 14th May.
LCF moved to 293-299 Kentish Town Road, London NW5 on 18th June 2007.
Law Centres hold public open days on 13th July to explain the Government’s plans and the effect they will have on future services.
1st October – Start of the LSC Unified Contract
The Legal Services Act 2007 received Royal Assent in October 2007
Stockport Law Centre closed on 20th October. Birmingham Law Centre joined the Federation on 23rd November.
LCF introduced a new category of membership – Affiliation for Law Clinics. Kent Law Clinic and College of Law Legal Advice Centre in London are the first two affiliates to join at the LCF AGM. Review of LCF Membership under way.
2008 18th February Julie Bishop joins the LCF as their new Director. In January LCF appoints Flora Williams as the LCF Equality and Diversity Manager funded by the Big Lottery Fund as part of a joint network, ‘Working Together for Advice’ initiative. Disability Rights worker leaves LCF at the end of March.
In March, three Law Centres close, Gateshead, Liverpool 8 and Rotherham. There are now 57 Law Centres. Leicester Law Centre is not selected as a member of the Leicester Community Legal Advice Centre and subsequently closed. Many Law Centres experience problems with the LSC transitional arrangements.
Agreement reached between the Law Society, the Ministry of Justice and the LSC on the unified contact following legal action by the Law Society in 2007. Deed of Settlement issued. Hard Work, Hidden Lives published by the TUC in May In April, LCF secures continued funding from the LSC for an ‘Improving Access – Raising Awareness’ project. Two new Development and Support consultants appointed with the Big Lottery Fund and London Councils funding.
Cathy Gallagher Development and Support Consultant (North) and Myles Kunzli, Development and Support Consultant (London) joined the LCF in May. LCF Office Manager, Nimrod Ben-Cnaan and Jennifer Ball, Training and Conference Co-ordinator joined in June.
Iris Suen, London Policy and Research worker leaves the LCF at the end of September.
Lewisham Law Centre closes
LCF receives additional funding from London Councils to fund a London Law Centres Tribunal Representation Project and a Young People and Homelessness Project.
October Lord Bach took over from Lord Hunt as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice with responsibility for legal aid reform. Announcement of review of local legal advice (published in June 2009) Legal Services Commission publish a consultation on proposed terms for contracting from 1st April 2010.
Enfield Law Centre closed in November. LCF appoints new chair, Nick Woolf at AGM on 21st November. John Fitzpatrick resigns. Law Centres agree to change the rules for paying subscriptions to the LCF. LCF was successful in obtaining continued (one year) funding from Progress based at the European Union.
NEF Research - The Socio-Economic Value of Law Centres commissioned by the LCF was published in December 2008.
2009 The Legal Services Board came into being on 1st January 2009. It is mandated to ensure that regulation in the legal services sector is carried out in the public interest; and that the interests of consumers are placed at the heart of the system. The Office for Legal Complaints was officially established on 1st July 2009.
LCF makes a submission to the LSC on the proposed 2010 Contact in January.
There are now five Community Legal Advice Centres (Gateshead, Leicester, Derby, Portsmouth and Hull).
Law Society announce an Access to Justice Review in April.
LCF appoints new Policy and Campaigns Manager, Jane Backhurst and Communications and Promotions Officer, Clare Rudebeck in May 2009.
June All Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid established on 2nd June
Findings from the study into the provision of local legal advice were published in June 2009
LCF launches a series of YouTube videos about Law Centres at the House of Commons on 14th July.
With additional funding from London Councils, LCF appoints a Monitoring and Information Officer, Sarah Duvigneau in July.
The Legal Services Commission announced at the end of July that the tender process for the new civil legal aid contracts would be postponed for 6 months.
Advice for Life, a charity which ran Cambridge Law Centre and Huntingdon Law Centre went into liquidation in July. Both Law Centres closed on 30th July.
And now we move towards further reform? - can't we just be allowed to get on with our work?
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 31, 2011 0:09:56 GMT 1
New Kids On The Block - Is this what's seen as an alternative to specialist advice?Whilst looking at new ways of delivering financial and debt advice must always be welcomed, an article in the Financial Times adviser on line blog section raises some concerns, this was raised back in March 2010:Here's what the article says "The new Moneymadeclear advice service was launched last week, with plenty of fanfare from the Government. The service – run in partnership with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) – will offer consumers access to free financial advice. Yet do advisers have the right to feel aggrieved at the launch of what is clearly a government attempt to get to grips with financial capability? Ahead of the implementation of the retail distribution review (RDR) younger advisers are striving to reach QCA level four. However, it’s not clear what level Moneymadeclear advisers will have to reach. It says: “Moneymadeclear will help people make confident, informed financial decisions and make the most of their money. It will encourage people to take action before money worries become unmanageable money problems. “The service is completely impartial and will never recommend products or try to sell anything.” However, the kind of free advice offered by Moneymadeclear could help push consumers towards the high street banks and providers with the bigger advertising spend, rather than seeking (and paying for) fee-based independent advice on products from an adviser. The service’s website does carry the caveat that it will push consumers toward specialist advice or regulated financial advice when it has reached the boundaries of its knowledge. But with thousands of advisers and specialists to choose from, what criteria will it recommend advisers on? Undoubtedly, a number of people who seek out professional and independent advice will have no need to use Moneymadeclear. However, there can only ever be so many sophisticated investors and high net worth clients to go round. As many advisers struggle to keep heads above water in the current regulatory environment, will an alternative, free advice service provide unfair competition for advisers?" The article can be found on the following link blog.ftadviser.com/2010/03/15/new-kid-on-the-block/It's noteworthy that the article raises questions of unfair competition for advisers. It also raises the issue over whether Government is attaching too much emphasis on the promotion of financial literacy as a means of being able to reassure us that increased knowledge and education of money related skills will eradicate the need for specialist help - given by fully skilled advisers.
The promotion of financial literacy is admirable - but it's no substitute for those that face debt problems now - requiring properly funded specialist help by competent advisers.
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 31, 2011 0:42:31 GMT 1
As all these changes take place on the front line, what's going on behind the scene in the House of Commons? Here politicians debate the Financial Services Bill in December 2010. " Angela Knight: It is a reality of life. I think the levy for financial education at the moment by the FSA is about £25 million on our members, and we can add probably another £50 million or £60 million, perhaps more, that is being spent on that area already. If I am getting close to £100 million right now, then that is a lot of money, which is another reason why we have to be clear, careful and coherent. In some of the welfare areas—this is what has come through from the various studies—it seems that that is almost a better role for something like Citizens Advice, which has huge expertise in that area already; of course, we already partially fund it. So let us get into a bit more detail first. Mr. Horam: Given that it is going to be largely the same people doing the educating who have been doing it so far, do you have any problems about the credibility of the new body? Angela Knight: Yes, of course, there are problems about credibility and that is why we say we have got to scope it properly in the first instance. If it looks like it is just some sort of endless quango, then it joins the other list of quangos. There are some good people who work in this area already. If it is scoped properly, has a good board, is obvious how it reports, has clarity of message and purpose and good management, it will have credibility. You have to start it off right. Adrian Coles: If I may pick up on a point that Angela made a moment ago, I had assumed from reading the Bill that this new body will provide finance to bodies such as CABs, so that CABs can deliver what the new body wants delivered. I assumed that CABs were going to be an agency of this new body. Angela Knight: That is why I say it has got to be clear because it is not clear. Adrian Coles: Yes. Angela Knight and Adrian Coles were witnesses representing British Banks and Building Societies. Let's hope our politicians can be clear on whose being funded and what they are being funded to do before reforms are made in other areas.The full text of the debate can be found on the following link. [Hansard is a public record of debates which take place on a daily basis in Parliament] www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmpublic/finser/091210/am/91210s02.htm#end
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Jan 31, 2011 23:29:05 GMT 1
Legal Aid for medical negligence cases to go - raising serious concerns over access to justice and healthcare standards.
Plans to remove Legal Aid for clinical negligence cases would damage access to justice and allow risks taken by doctors to go unchecked, according to the father of a boy who died after a medical blunder.By Martin Beckford 4:57PM GMT 31 Jan 2011 Jonathan Sinclair-Wilson said that without public funding, he would never have been able to prove that his son, who was born disabled and died aged six, had been injured in the womb by a doctor’s needle. He also warned ministers that the savings made by the proposal to axe Legal Aid in cases of alleged malpractice – estimated at £17million a year - would be “trivial and illusory”. Mr Sinclair-Wilson has written in a letter to Ken Clarke, the Lord Chancellor: “The real cost, to the Government and to society, is in the clinical negligence itself and the burdens it brings in its train. The real saving would correspondingly be in reducing the instances of negligence. “Removing Legal Aid that enables investigations and discovery of failures will have the reverse effect, and the Government will have achieved a trivial and illusory short-term saving at the cost of mounting long-term problems and liabilities.” His son, Ben, was one of twins but he was born in 1989 with severe disabilities while his sister, Rosa, was born healthy and is now studying at Cambridge University. Mr Sinclair-Wilson and his wife, Charlotte, became convinced that while the twins were still in the womb, a doctor at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington had penetrated Ben’s brain with a needle while carrying out a test and so damaged his brain. They “encountered enormous resistance and disbelief” from medics who denied that the amniocentesis procedure – in which amniotic fluid is extracted to test for abnormalities – could have been responsible for the boy’s injuries. But because Legal Aid was available, an “extensive and expensive” investigation was carried out as part of a clinical negligence case brought against the hospital. An autopsy later proved that the botched test had indeed caused Ben’s disabilities. Because Ben had been the plaintiff but died in 1996 while the case was still in progress, no compensation was awarded although his parents did receive a payment for their distress and loss of earnings. Mr Sinclair-Wilson, the head of an environmental publishing firm, believes that they would never have found out what happened to Ben if they had had to rely on “no win, no fee” lawyers to take on their case, rather than obtaining a solicitor through Legal Aid. “Given the unprecedented nature of the case and the medical scepticism it met with, the lawyer who acted for us has said we would have been very unlikely to find a firm willing to act on the basis of a success fee. We were, however, able to obtain Legal Aid on the basis of the prima facie evidence of medical negligence.” As part of plans announced by the Government last November to cut the cost to the taxpayer of court cases, it is proposed that Legal Aid is removed from almost all clinical negligence cases. Mr Sinclair-Wilson believes the move would save little money and would make it far more difficult for medical errors to be uncovered, increasing the likelihood that further mistakes are made. He believes that the Government’s motivation is to reduce the number of cases brought against the hospitals. Official figures show that the cost of settling claims has risen to £15billion and that 6,652 allegations were made in the most recent financial year. Mr Sinclair-Wilson wrote to ministers earlier this month: “Any savings would be either trivial or largely illusory, but as my wife and I know from our own experience, the principal issues at stake are access to justice, and retaining a vital check on the standards of care in the NHS. “The Government’s proposal to remove Legal Aid will very significantly reduce the likelihood of negligence being uncovered in the first place. This threatens to compound the problem by allowing medical recklessness and irresponsibility to go unchecked, with fewer sanctions. “It has been reported that the cost of Legal Aid for clinical negligence currently runs at £17million a year. The Government’s real objective is presumably a reduction in the liabilities it faces for clinical negligence – which have been mounting precisely because of failures of risk management and standards of care – but even here, any ‘savings’ would be far smaller than might at first appear.” Anne Winyard, the solicitor at Leigh Day & Co who acted for Ben, said: “The big saving for the Government is in the damages.” She went on: “The real problem is that the Government is changing the way clinical negligence cases are made and funded on all fronts at once.” Ms Winyard said that patients and lawyers will suffer as ministers try to make more claimants pay ongoing case costs known as “disbursements”, as well as by cutting Legal Aid funding. “It’s a pincer movement that will really seriously reduce access to justice.” Isn't it inherently dangerous to restrict people - of limited means - from being able to challenge the health authorities in cases of potential negligence? - especially at a time when there is concern over reduced funding in the NHS with more emphasis on cost efficiency savings. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8273756/Scrapping-Legal-Aid-for-medical-cases-bad-for-justice-and-health.html
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Feb 1, 2011 21:55:41 GMT 1
There's more news on the Financial Inclusion Fund in the Guardian today, with the following statistics (anyone know how these figures were arrived at?):A total of £130m was allocated by the last government to increase the provision of free face-to-face debt advice, focusing on areas and social groups suffering from high proportions of financial exclusion. Sixteen advice providers, including Citizens Advice, were selected by the Department of Trade and Industry – now the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills – to share the money, and since 2006 these services have helped: • 379,000 people manage more than £6bn of debt. • 3,000 families stay in their homes, resulting in a £150m saving to the courts and mortgage lenders in court and repossession costs. • create an estimated £700m in annual cost savings for the NHS because of avoided mental health problems and stress. • creditors recover an estimated £300m more of their debt than they would have recovered without the service. Read the full article here: www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/feb/01/debt-advice-funding-axedThanks to Patrick for posting this on Ilegal earlier today.
|
|
|
Post by Patrick Torsney on Feb 2, 2011 12:46:33 GMT 1
This is an interview with an adviser from the Mary Ward Legal Centre in London talking about the problems the local community will face when they are no longer there to help them and, her imminent redundancy following the Government's decision to stop funding the Financial Inclusion Fund project
This piece was broadcast on BBC Breakfast News on 1st February 2011
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Feb 2, 2011 18:00:19 GMT 1
This is far more than just Birmingham, it's affecting the City of London & Nottingham too......This detailed piece in the Guardian today leads on the carnage in Birmingham but notes the cuts already announced to City of London CAB and the threats to Nottingham. www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/j....es-face-closureAs originally posted by Colin on Ilegal.
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Feb 2, 2011 18:05:35 GMT 1
Poorest will be hit by cuts at Coventry Citizens Advice BureauFeb 1 2011 COVENTRY’S Citizens Advice Bureau is set to axe half its support for thousands of the city’s most vulnerable people because of government cuts. It says it is being forced – from next week – to stop taking on any new cases among low-income people and families needing legal representation over crippling debts or benefits claims. It fears further problems in the future as the government plans to cut Legal Aid – which funds legal support for low-income people who cannot otherwise afford to take their cases to court or tribunals. Legal Aid provides free legal representation for family court cases, benefits claims appeals including for disability benefits, as well as support in immigration, housing and employment tribunal cases. Read More www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/2011/02/01/poorest-will-be-hit-by-cuts-at-coventry-citizens-advice-bureau-92746-28092939/#ixzz1CpA9dePNAs originally posted by Colin on Ilegal.
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Feb 2, 2011 18:07:54 GMT 1
Newmarket CAB joins those affected......Citizens bureau seeks help as funding shortfall looms John Goode Lynne Rawlings, CAB manager reports. "Town councillors have been asked to help fill a funding shortfall for a Citizens Advice Bureau. The Newmarket bureau is facing a £20,000 cut in the cash it previously received from two district councils. Now the town council has been asked to step in with £5,000 this year. Members of the town council are to decide at a full meeting on Monday whether to pay the cash and, if so, whether the money will come from the council tax or from reserves. The town council’s finance and policy committee referred the issue to the full council after hearing a plea from Cllr Warwick Hirst, chairman of the CAB trustees. Lynne Rawlings, manager of the CAB, said the funding cuts come at a time when more people need help with debts and benefit issues. She said: “We are funded by Suffolk County Council, Forest Heath District Council and East Cambridgeshire District Council which are all expected to reduce their grants. “We’re expecting a 13 per cent cut from East Cambs and 11 per cent from Forest Heath. “In recent years since the credit crunch we have had additional grants to pay for a debt worker and that’s not going to be forthcoming. But the number of clients is increasing and so is the level of debt.” Mrs Rawlings said a third of people who turned to the CAB for help had some sort of debt problem. In the first nine months of the current financial year the amount of “priority debt” such as mortgage and rent arrears had soared to £1.5 million from £500,000 for the whole of the previous year. Non-priority debts such as credit and store cards had also increased to £3 million over nine months compared to £2.5 million for the previous year. Many of those turning to the CAB also had benefit problems but the CAB was struggling to fund a benefits specialist. “We have fantastic volunteers who are very experienced, but we need somebody who can take these benefit inquiries that bit further,” she said. “I understand that everyone has financial problems, but if people don’t come to us then the problems will just get worse and it will cost the councils more in the long-term.” Newmarket CAB makes a particular point over the need for a welfare benefit specialist - to support their volunteerswww.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk/news/local/brutal_cuts_slice_through_cab_1_2353506As originally posted on Ilegal
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Feb 2, 2011 18:23:04 GMT 1
Leamington CAB face a 'Brutal Slice' - and risk becoming an unrecognisable service.
Published on Fri Jan 28 Leamington’s Citizens Advice Bureau will soon be “unrecognisable” due to the cutbacks it is suffering, its manager has said. Hilary Holland has worked or volunteered for the charity for 30 years but she says the situation is so severe that even she has no idea of what the future will bring. She said: “We are going through an absolute slicing in our funding. The voluntary sector is going through cut after cut after cut. “We have lost three members of staff since November and that has a knock-on effect on volunteers. “By August the CAB is going to be unrecognisable.” While Warwick District Council, which owns the branch’s building in Hamilton Terrace, has put forward options for an alternative site including Leamington town hall, Mrs Holland says now is not the time to be thinking about a move. She said: “We have a 25-year lease since 1999 so we are safe here for the moment. “In March we are expecting another cut when central government withdraws funding for our debt workers. This is not a good time for the CAB to be thinking about it’s future needs when we don’t know what our future is. “At the moment we are just in survival mode, as are other voluntary organisations and the local authorities. “My guess is the district council wants to realise some capital on this building, while the town hall is virtually empty. It makes sense for them, but it’s not the right time for us. It’s about lack of time and money.” While the branch is currently run by a team of 18 staff and more than 50 volunteers, Mrs Holland said several more employees are under threat of redundancy and the only funding the charity considers reliable at the moment is the long-term agreements it has with other charities. She said: “The volunteers side is always very buoyant, but they do need training and support from paid staff. “I don’t think the CAB will close because it has adapted to change over the years. “But it won’t be long before we are no longer the organisation we used to be.” Debt and benefits were the two biggest issues about which people were asking the branch for advice last year. Mrs Holland said: “Those problems are not going to go away – they are going to get worse. “The policies of the coalition government are that the money spent on public services is too high. But local communities are excluded from all that and they just need help.” Speaking at a district council meeting last week, Cllr Les Caborn, responsible for customer and information services, said: “We are aware of the staff issues at the CAB and of the loss of funding and we value their work and will continue to work with them.” Leamington make a particular point over the need for paid staff to support their volunteers. www.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk/news/local/brutal_cuts_slice_through_cab_1_2353506
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Feb 2, 2011 23:11:33 GMT 1
Reports of 900 redundancy notices being issued to CAB staff in debt advice agencies.The following article appears on the internet, how accurate it is we don't know, but it raises serious concerns over where all of these jobs are going - far too quickly.Here's what James Falla of Credit Today has to say..... Debt advisory staff axed by Citizens AdviceDate: 31 January 2011, Author: James Falla "Citizens Advice has issued redundancy notices to 900 debt advice staff following a government decision to cut funding to the charity. A spokesperson for Citizens Advice confirmed to Credit Today, Insolvency Today’s sister title, that the redundancies would affect debt advisors, administrators and supervisors working on a scheme to provide debt advice in deprived communities. The scheme was funded by the government’s Financial Inclusion Fund. It is understood the fund took the form of a Treasury grant worth £130m, of which £87m was allocated to Citizens Advice. On January 19 Mark Hoban, financial secretary to the Treasury, told the House of Commons that the Financial Inclusion Fund will cease at the end of March this year, and the government has not yet indicated whether such funding will be renewed or not. Announcing the cut, Hoban said: “The government will work closely with industry and other stakeholders to ensure that tackling financial exclusion remains a high priority.” Short sighted James Falla, personal debt expert at beatmydebt.com said that a cut in funding in the area of debt advice was short sighted on the behalf of the government. "We estimate that the huge increases to living costs together with static or even reducing wages is leaving more people than ever before suffering with debt problems. There are a number of extremely good debt management companies who give excellent free advice to people suffering with financial difficulties. However, if the CAB lose this many specific debt staff it will be a significant hole to fill" Falla said. "I believe that the government should be now be putting more money into personal debt help services, not reducing it" Falla added." I can't help but wonder if all else aside, Government has stopped to think about how much 900 potentially out of work people will cost in ££££££££'s terms - but the real cost will be in terms of those left floundering with no where to turn to for proper advice - limited advice resources will be having to turn thousands away. It's plain daft to let all this specialised talent go to waste at a time when there is no greater need of help to those in debt. Sorry, but this is just plain ludicrous.
Here's the link www.beatmydebt.com/news-articles/debt-advisory-staff-axed-by-citizens-advice.htm
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Feb 3, 2011 22:57:25 GMT 1
Senior Labour Member of Parliament Caroline Flint hits out over CAB closure plans.by Jonathan Walker, Birmingham Mail Jan 31 2011 CLOSING five Citizens’ Advice Bureau in Birmingham would be a “huge blow” to thousands of residents, a senior Labour politician has warned. Caroline Flint, the Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government, spoke out after it was revealed that five Citizens’ Advice Bureau offices could close their doors next month because the city council has cut off their funding. Offices in the city centre, Kingstanding, Tyseley, Handsworth and Northfield will close on February 11 unless the charity can raise £50,000 a month to keep them open. The city council funding of £600,000 ends on March 31 and a replacement fund, from which CAB can bid, will not be available until August at the earliest. It means that 56,000 people who last year called on the service for free debt counselling, benefits help and other advice could be left without a free CAB service. Ms Flint said: “The CAB plays a vital role and this will be a huge blow to the thousands of people. For all their talk of creating a Big Society, the Tory gGovernment has chosen to hit councils with front-loaded cuts and the voluntary sector and community groups up and down the UK are paying the price.” The charity, which opened its first city office in 1939, has warned of an increase in people suffering from debt, homelessness and marriage breakdown if the service is not saved. Read More www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2011/01/31/caroline-flint-hits-out-over-cab-closure-plans-97319-28082986/#ixzz1Cw3i6WVB
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Feb 4, 2011 19:19:01 GMT 1
CAB Royal Patron Princess Anne open's new Citizens Advice Bureau in Bournemouth on Wednesday 20th October 2010, the public say what an excellent service it is, seems another fears George Osborne will close it the day after!, here's an extract from the article....
PRINCESS Anne is coming to Bournemouth.The Princess Royal will be in Kinson on Friday, December 10, to open the new Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) at the Hub, Buckingham Palace confirmed. Her visit to Wimborne Road as patron of the National Association of CAB also marks 70 years of the service in Bournemouth. A spokesman for Bournemouth Citizens Advice Bureau, said: “We’re delighted the Princess Royal will be joining us to participate in our 70th anniversary, and want as many people to know about our new facilities as possible.” Mayor Cllr Barry Goldbart and Lord Lieutenant Mrs Anthony Pitt-Rivers will also attend the opening. Cllr Goldbart said he was looking forward to the royal visit. He said: “This is a remarkable design of a new building, partly funded by the Big Lottery and Bournemouth council. “It houses a magnificent library, housing offices as well as the CAB and many other small units.” Earlier in the day, the Princess Royal will open the Weymouth Relief Road on the A354 between Dorchester and Weymouth and attend a lunch at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. It’s hoped the second base of Bournemouth CAB will maximise the services it can provide. In the last year its experts dealt with 9,500 new enquiries. Here's what the public says: "I want to see this hard working member of the Royal Family in the flesh, and give her a "Hurrah", and CAB, for their EXCELLENT services and staff. Unique in the world is the UK CAB... and some members of our Royal Family..such as HRH Princess Anne" Followed by a less optimistic view......."George Osbourne will fly in on the 11th to close it" Read the full article www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/8462837.Princess_Anne_to_open_new_Citizens_Advice_Bureau_in_Bournemouth/
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Feb 4, 2011 21:58:20 GMT 1
Bristol council sends a firm message to Minister of Justice Ken Clarke over legal aid reforms.
Liberal Democrats on Bristol City Council have challenged their own Coalition Government’s cuts in the legal aid budget for civil actions.
The ruling group has tabled a motion to full council condemning plans to slash support in Bristol alone by nearly £540,000.
Council leader Barbara Janke has written to Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke, saying: “This money currently funds advice provided by charities working in important areas such as debt, housing, employment, education, welfare benefits and immigration. “We believe the cut will leave thousands of vulnerable households and people on low incomes without access to legal advice to deal with life-changing problems. “The civil legal aid budget has, as you know, remained static for five years and the proportion of people who qualify has already been cut from 52% in the late 1990s to below 30%. “Along with Britain’s other major cities, Bristol has borne the brunt of the Coalition’s general cut in financial support for local government. We understand that the last Labour government’s profligacy shoulders much of the blame for these spending reductions. “But the Lib Dem administration at Bristol City Council also feels very strongly that everyone should have the right to take civil action irrespective of their private means. “We understand there are no alternative funding streams for this kind of advice work and, therefore, strongly urge you to restore this vital budget.” The motion to council urges members and local MPs to contact the Ministry of Justice to voice their concerns. Since its introduction in 1949, legal aid has sought to provide access to justice for those of limited means. Costing £536m in 1982, the budget has spiralled to over £2bn today. In a Commons debate on Wednesday, MPs heard how the government sought to remove £350m of funding from family and other civil law by 2014. This is a reduction of more than a third and will affect an estimated half a million cases. The expectation is that people should now represent themselves, or seek alternative routes for resolving disputes outside the court service. The plans to cut legal aid handouts for civil cases would hit the “poorest the hardest”, MPs were told, while many disputes would develop into far greater problems. Last month, Katie Pratt, deputy chief executive of Taunton-based Equality South West (ESW), told Bristol24-7: “If these proposals are implemented, only the very poorest of the poor will be able to obtain civil legal aid. Hundreds of thousands of people will be unable to get the help they need at a time of crisis, when they are least able to defend themselves. “But even for the very few who do qualify, legal aid will no longer be available for a wide range of disputes, including housing, divorce, school exclusion appeals, welfare benefits, employment, non violent domestic disputes, clinical negligence and debt advice.” Consultation on the reforms ends on February 14. Council's are already hard pressed with all they have to pay out, yet they still try to do what they can to provide those in their community with decent public services, including funding the voluntary sector for vital advice services wherever possible. The localism bill is being promoted to give local authorities more choice over how they spend their money. But with restrictions on raising Council Tax, local authorities have their hand tied behind their backs as they too are faced with drastic cuts which have been set by central government. Council's face anger from those in their locality because people will see these cuts as their fault - truth is the cause is lack of central funding. www.bristol247.com/2011/02/04/bri....gal-aid-budget/Read more: mylegal.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=frontline&thread=148&page=1#227#ixzz1D1fUJsmP
|
|
|
Post by nickd on Feb 6, 2011 19:37:08 GMT 1
Thanks to new member Bexster for highlighting the effects cuts in funding are having on advice services in Nottingham - here's what some BBC news coverage had to say.... Nottinghamshire advice service faces funding crisis The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is warning some of its branches in Nottinghamshire could close if the county council cuts its funding. The council has proposed a 67% cut in its funding to the bureau. Managers said seven bureaus may close if the service lost £200,000 of its £300,000 council funding. The council said the plans were under consultation but tough decisions have to be made as it tries to find £150m over the next three years. The funding represents about 15% of its total income and pays for its rent and training of volunteers. County lifeblood Simon Hartley Jones, chief executive of Mansfield CAB, said: "It will have a devastating effect on our service. We rely so much on that funding from the county council … it would literally knock us off our feet." He said there has been a 30% increase in clients in the past two years in Mansfield. "If offices don't close then the amount of time offices are open during the week and able to see clients will reduce dramatically," he said. He said council funding paid for training and recruitment of volunteers and was "the lifeblood of our service across the county." Council leader Kay Cutts said: "Like most organisations in this difficult times the Citizens Advice Bureau may need to look at maximising resources and reducing unnecessary replication." There's a slight irony in the name of the Council leader 'Katy Cutts' - perhaps this accounts for her views on maximising resources and reducing replication. CAB are forever having to maximize funding and we do all we can to avoid duplication of services - perhaps this is a role where Council's could help us more by highlighting areas where duplication seems apparent?
Here's the link to the full storywww.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-11681945
|
|
|
Post by lindak8 on Feb 7, 2011 15:38:45 GMT 1
More news of cuts to advice services in Teignbridge, South Devon.
Here's what they have to say in the local press:
"CAB future hangs in the balance"
Friday, 04 February 2011by Lindsey Sill THE future of Teignbridge Citizens Advice Bureau is hanging in the balance – and it could lose up to 20 per cent of its budget. Lack of funds has aready forced the closure of its Dawlish office and the bureau at Teignmouth needs refurbishment. Funding for specific targets runs out at the end of March and there will be fewer staff from April. The major problem is not just keeping services going, but keeping them going at an acceptable level. But there is little doubt that certain services may well have to be ditched. Teignbridge Council is looking at how it can keep its funding going – it forks out half of the CAB budget, while Devon County Council chips in with the other. But in the next financial year, the CAB is being told it can operate with only £86,000. CABs throughout the county are on the verge of setting up a Devon-wide consortium to try to make themselves more efficient. The idea is to look at services in different ways. Teignbridge, South Hams and West Devon plan to launch a joint telephone service. Here's the link to the article www.newton-abbot-today.co.uk/News.cfm?id=4431&headline=CAB%20future%20hangs%20in%20the%20balance
|
|