The country’s first Community Legal Advice Centre (CLAC) which aims to improve access to publicly funded civil legal advice for local residents, has been launched.
The Gateshead CLAC will enable people to get legal help for social welfare problems such as housing, debt, community care, employment or family law including domestic violence or children taken into care. The centre brings together civil legal aid services, funded by the Legal Services Commission, with social welfare services, funded by Gateshead Council. Staff at the centre will also have the remit to tackle the common causes of local problems—through awareness raising and negotiation—with a view to preventing them in future.
