SPOTLIGHT ON
Protecting the legal advice sector in 2020
2020 has been a year like no other for most of us. While many of us have been struggling with the adjustment to working from home, not seeing colleagues, and feeling isolated, the most vulnerable in our society have been dealing with even more severe problems. People have lost jobs, are struggling with benefits, and have suddenly been plunged into severe poverty1; while domestic violence cases have increased2. Many people who have never experienced poverty or its related issues are now facing them, without knowing where to go for help. The free legal advice agencies that exist to serve them are facing an exponential increase in the demand for their services, many without the resources to meet them. One agency, Citizens Advice East End, reports as many as 450 people per day requesting help. To understand how this situation came to be, we must first look at the state of the free legal advice sector before coronavirus emerged. The 2020 Advising Londoners report, produced by the Advice Services Alliance, illustrates the tenuous position many agencies were in even before the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. The report states: “several policy and funding decisions since 2010 have both increased the demand for information, advice and support on issues relating to social welfare law, and at the same time reduced the capacity of the advice sector to deliver advice. Extensive reform of the welfare benefits system has been introduced at the same times as extensive public spending cuts and reductions in legal aid, which was previously a major source of funding for the advice sector”.3 So, to this already precarious situation was added the dramatic increase in the need for advice that resulted from the effects of COVID-19. This has meant that many advice agencies that were already operating on shoestring budgets are now struggling to meet the demand they are facing.
While the issues facing legal advice agencies are large and nuanced, they need our support now more than ever. High quality legal advice, delivered in time, has the power to turn people’s lives around. London Legal Support Trust fundraises for these free frontline legal advice agencies, to help them continue the important work they do. This year, the legal community will come together on the 5th of October for the London Legal Walk 10xChallenge. With over 4,000 participants and 600+ teams registered from firms, chambers, courts, and more, it is apparent that the legal community are doing their best to support this important cause. The need for funds is more urgent than ever; please consider donating to the London Legal Support Trust so they can continue their vital work. Because everybody should have access to justice. For more information, visit: www.londonlegalsupporttrust.org.uk. ■ 1. Patrick Butler, “Extreme poverty 'will double by Christmas' in UK because of Covid-19”, The Guardian, 14 September 2020, www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/14/coronavirusextreme-poverty-in-uk-will-double-by-christmas-trustpredicts 2. Mark Townsend, “Revealed: surge in domestic violence during Covid-19 crisis”, The Guardian, 12 April 2020, www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/12/domesticviolence-surges-seven-hundred-per-cent-uk-coronavirus 3. Advice Services Alliance, Advising Londoners, https://asauk. org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Advising-LondonersReport-30072020-1.pdf, Page 10. The Bill of Middlesex | 13
