LSC to close its specialist support service in July
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is to close its specialist support service, through which law centres, legal aid law firms and legal advice agencies can telephone a legal expert for help.
Current contracts for the service are due to end on 30 June, but the scheme has been extended by another week to give the service time to wind down.
The service provides “second-tier support” via telephone and e-mail to advice agencies and legal aid law firms working in the areas of welfare benefits, housing, debt, employment, community care, immigration, mental health and public law.
It was set up in 2008, and cost the LSC between £1.1m and £1.65m to run annually. While the largest contractor worked double the hours expected, five of the other eight contractors reported under-usage of the service.
The LSC had planned to close the service in March, but backed down after the Public Law Project issued judicial review proceedings. It then extended the contracts for a further three months and launched a consultation.
Last week, however, the LSC announced the end for the service, saying that, having considered the response to its consultation, it had decided there were suitable alternatives for dealing with complex queries, such as instructing counsel or referring the matter to a specialist adviser.
It pointed out that the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 reduces the legal aid scope of five of the eight categories of coverage, and that the government has made clear that it intends to reduce the legal aid bill by £350m by 2014-2015.
Eight organisations are contracted to provide the service — Citizens Advice, Shelter, virtual law firm Scott-Moncrieff, the PLP, London firm Wilson & Co, the Child Poverty Action Group, the London Advice Services Alliance and Shelter Cymru.
