Londoners to lose out

The London Advice Watch report, published last week by the Legal Action Group (LAG), shows the impact of proposed cuts on individuals and advice centres, such as law centres and Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Steve Hynes, director of LAG, says Londoners would lose access to advice on housing, employment, debt, benefits and immigration.

“Firms of solicitors and advice agencies will lose £9.33m in funding and many will be threatened with closure,” he says.

“It is not unreasonable to say that nearly half of London’s 28 advice centres will close, and that about half of the 900 London law firms who do legal aid work will close.

“The King’s College report showing the knock-on effect of cutting legal aid was very interesting. It’s a completely false economy to cut back on legal aid for social welfare law—there’s a saying that, for every £1 spent on advice centres, £9 is saved on other state expenditure.

“Timely advice that nips problems in the bud saves them from spiralling out of control into other problems such as debt or housing. It’s a particular shame for smaller agencies that serve particular communities, many of which will disappear—these groups are the ‘big society’ writ large.”

The research showed the cuts are likely to be unpopular—88% of Londoners believe advice on common legal problems should be free to all, or to those on or below the national average income, and 94% of people who got advice received a free service.

Hynes said “A lot of families are facing problems, including the middle classes. Our research found that eight per cent of people in social groups A and B who sought advice in the last year needed advice on benefits.”