Delivering Free Specialist Legal Advice in Yorkshire and the North East

Transcription

1 Delivering Free Specialist Legal Advice in Yorkshire and the North East Working together in the not-for-profit sector to improve access

2 Contents 03 Introduction 05 Context 06 Findings 07 Recommendations > Family > Employment > Welfare Benefits > Housing > Immigration > Other Areas of Law > Training and Consultancy > Other Partnership Working 11 Case Studies 14 Geographical Distribution of Services 19 Acknowledgments North East and Yorkshire Law Centre 2015 For further information about this report, please contact: Anne Hudson - anne.hudson@kirkleescitizensadvice.org.uk Nick Whittingham - nwhittingham@kirkleeslc.org.uk 2 Working together in the not for profit sector to improve access

3 Introduction The purpose of the report is to examine the provision of free specialist legal advice in the North East and Yorkshire by the not-for-profit sector, and to look at where innovative development exists and where there are gaps in provision. This report is an initiative of founder member organisations of the North East and Yorkshire Regional Law Centre; Sheffield Citizens Advice and Law Centre, Bradford Law Centre, Kirklees Citizens Advice and Law Centre and Newcastle Law Centre. The report concentrates on legal advice in social welfare categories of law which includes representation and civil litigation - this would normally be delivered or supervised by a solicitor. These categories include immigration, community care, education, discrimination, welfare benefits, housing, family, employment and public law. The report was initiated because the participants wished to determine what services were available following significant recent changes in the sector. In 2013 the effects of LASPO (Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012) came into effect and the scope of civil Legal Aid available was reduced. This came at a time when the austerity cuts resulting from the economic crisis were also affecting charities, especially those funded or part-funded by local authorities. A number of long-standing legal charities have closed in the past two years. There is also a perceived increase in demand for the services which do exist. The contraction in the number of suppliers concentrates demand on those remaining but, in addition, there is anecdotal evidence of an increase in overall demand. Delivering free specialist legal advice in Yorkshire and the North East 3

4 At all levels of delivery in the sector, from generalist to specialist, resources appear to be inadequate to meet demand, despite efforts to improve efficiency and to innovate. Initial impressions, backed up by this research, show that services vary significantly in different locations. Funding was obtained 1 to undertake work with the main aim being to identify what specialist services are available in the region, by whom they are delivered and where they can be accessed. The research concentrated on services provided by the not-for-profit sector and included those where a fee is charged. This report will: > Identify the services available and where they are delivered > Highlight new and innovative types of service provision (including those which make a charge to the client) and explore how some of these might be expanded into other areas > Examine ways in which agencies of all types might work together to use existing resource in a different way to extend provision > Identify areas where there is little or no provision and make recommendations or suggestions for how a service could be established. 1 Funding for the research and writing of this report was received from the Future Advice Fund, with thanks. 4 Working together in the not for profit sector to improve access

5 Context In 2013, the population of England was estimated to be 53,107,200 people. The total for the North East and Yorkshire 2 was 7,884,600 thus constituting 15% of the total. The Indices of Deprivation 3 for 2010 show that 2 parts of this region are in the top ten localities with the most deprivation in England those are Middlesbrough (second most deprived area in the country) and Hull (fifth most). Hartlepool and Bradford are both also in the top twenty. The North East and Yorkshire has 29% of its localities in the 1% most deprived areas in England this is disproportionally higher than would be expected from the population distribution. The majority of the provision of Social Welfare law in England and Wales has previously been funded, for financially eligible clients, by Legal Aid. LASPO removed some areas of law from the scope of Legal Aid and greatly reduced what was included in others. Some legal advice funded by Legal Aid was previously available face to face and is now only accessible via a national telephone gateway with mixed views about its effectiveness. At the same time as the reduction of Legal Aid other funding in the third sector has been greatly reduced because of the financial austerity cuts instigated by the government as a response to the general economic situation. This has particularly affected local authority grants which have, in the past, represented a significant proportion of funding received by not for profit advice agencies. Additional funding was made available from the Government via the Big Lottery s Advice Services Transition Fund but this concentrated mainly on infrastructure and reorganisation within the advice sector with only 25% maximum able to be used for direct service delivery. The funding was necessarily time limited. 2 All population statistics from Office for National Statistics 3 Report released by the Department for Communities and Local Government in March 2011 Delivering free specialist legal advice in Yorkshire and the North East 5

6 Findings There are a number of different types of provider in the region: Law Centres Four currently exist in this region currently although there have been more in the past. Two of these are now merged with other organisations and have also become Citizens Advice Bureaux (CABx). There is also the North East and Yorkshire Regional Law Centre which delivers no services at present but currently acts as a strategic vehicle for the four law centres in the region. Other, independent, specialist providers National and local such as Shelter or DAWN. Citizens Advice Bureaux with specialist units often, but not always, the legacy of bureaux previously holding Legal Aid contracts or retaining at least one (usually housing). Welfare Rights Units Local authority provision usually specialising in Welfare Benefits which varies considerably in quantity and scope across the region. Pro bono advice by private practice solicitors Sometimes as part of their service but often in partnership with generalist advice agencies. This varies considerably and is beyond the scope of this report although future partnerships may be made with this sector. University law clinics Provision of free law clinics using students differs considerably from area to area and there is already some joint work with law centres but this is beyond the scope of this report. If developments are implemented as a result of this report they will need to take into account what work universities are doing in the localities concerned. Many services are delivered in partnership with other providers either in a formal way by delivering a contract together, or more informally where an agreed referral pathway is established. It has also been noted that generalist services do, on occasion, deliver specialist services. This usually applies in Welfare Benefits advice where advisers prepare complex legal arguments and represent at tribunals but also in housing/debt where generalist advisers may attend court, prepare legal arguments and speak on behalf of the client in eviction matters. It is less common in other areas of law where practice is to refer to a specialist. A number of agencies interviewed for this report considered that more specialist work might be delivered by generalist services if appropriate training and access to consultancy were available. 6 Working together in the not for profit sector to improve access

7 Recommendations Nowhere in the North East and Yorkshire is very well provided with specialist legal provision in many areas of law and provision is also very patchy across the region. The rural nature of a lot of the region makes this inconsistency of access more pronounced. Areas which have law centres or where the law centre has chosen to work appear to be richer in provision than those areas limited to generalist services and local authority provision, although there are, of course, exceptions. The most obvious gaps are: > South Yorkshire (Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster) > The Yorkshire coast (Scarborough, Whitby and Bridlington).York > Leeds > Hull > Durham > Middlesborough Where projects are set up or there is a new initiative planned in the future it is important that these should also take into account the areas with little or no provision and whether they could be covered by partnership working. Middlesbrough and Hull are also of especial concern because of their high levels of deprivation. This report makes the following recommendations: Family This is a non-traditional area of law for the not for profit sector but demand has increased substantially following the loss of Legal Aid for most of the work carried out in this field. Two providers (Newcastle Law Centre and DAWN) deliver a service in this area, some of this is charged for and some is funded by other sources and is, therefore, free to the client. Recommendation: A project be developed to increase access to some aspects of family law advice across the region. This could be piloted in one or two areas and may initially only involve a telephone service. Delivering free specialist legal advice in Yorkshire and the North East 7

8 Employment There is still some provision of employment advice across the region, some free and some for which a charge is made. The location of the employment advice is mainly determined by agencies which retain staff with these skills from previous Legal Aid contracts. The service is vulnerable because it is delivered by one or two individuals at each location and should those people cease to deliver the service it is unlikely that it would be continued or that there would be recruitment to their roles. There is no other advice provision for employment which does not charge the client those projects which already have some charging element are finding that there is a demand for the service but that it is not necessarily a guaranteed money earner. With the advent of employment tribunal fees free advice is needed at an early stage to prevent clients spending money on starting cases which have no chance of success. Recommendation: Work be undertaken with delivering agencies to attempt to join up this work across the region, either free or charged for, and to improve the long term viability of this provision. Welfare Benefits Provision of specialist advice in this area of law is patchy across the region. The Legal Aid Upper Tribunal contract is very limited in the cases it can take on and most other advice is delivered in generalist agencies, although often at a specialist level. Because this area of work is normally delivered by generalist agencies, it lies beyond the scope of this report. Recommendation: Strategic work needs to be coordinated across the region to ensure good access to Welfare Benefits advice, but this is best done away from the focus of this project. 8 Working together in the not for profit sector to improve access

9 Housing Legal Aid is available for major issues as well as help at court via the court duty schemes. What is less widely available is help with housing matters outside of the scope of Legal Aid although there is some delivery of this, especially by Shelter in Sheffield and Newcastle. This is an area of law which needs further exploration as any developments would need to be focussed on very specific areas, for example in minor disrepair or repayment of bonds by private landlords. It is possible that these are areas where a small charging service could be piloted. Recommendation: A pilot for charging for services becomes a development project in the medium term, rather than an immediate goal. Immigration Legal Aid provides free access to asylum law advice and there are many providers in the region (mostly private practice) although there is anecdotal evidence that the quality of service provided is variable and can be very poor. Some asylum and all immigration issues are no longer covered by Legal Aid. Although a number of agencies are delivering advice and other agencies, not included in this report, are providing support this is an area where there are a large number of private practice providers and clients expect to have to pay. There is always a large demand for immigration services and this is an area which might benefit from a charged for service which is cheaper than that available in the market and where the service delivered is more client focussed this is a model which is being trialled elsewhere in the country. Recommendation: A project to consider areas of immigration where a charge can reasonably be made is developed to increase access to high quality advice at an affordable price. Delivering free specialist legal advice in Yorkshire and the North East 9

10 Other areas of law Other areas of law are also delivered by specialist providers. These include Community Care and Public Law which are provided via Legal Aid contracts. Discrimination in the provision of goods and services is only delivered as a discrete area of law in Sheffield for local people, and Newcastle Law Centre is the only not for profit agency in the region delivering education law. These areas of law are important and the region would be enhanced were there more free provision but they are not immediate priorities. Recommendation: These areas of law are considered in the long-term rather than at the present. Training and consultancy Specialist advisers have a wealth of experience and skills which, if made available, could enhance the service offered by generalist advisers. Recommendation: A project is considered that finds a way to make the skills and experience of specialist advisers more easily accessible to generalist agencies. Other partnership working There are a number of pro bono initiatives by private practice solicitors, some of which are delivered jointly with not for profit providers, in the area. There are also law clinics and other initiatives delivered by universities and law schools. These are outside the scope of this report and the capacity of this project but work needs to be undertaken to map these and to work with the providers to explore how they can contribute to more joined up provision of specialist legal advice in the North East and Yorkshire. Recommendation: Work to map other partnership working could be a future extension of this project. 10 Working together in the not for profit sector to improve access

11 Case Studies Family law delivered by Newcastle Law Centre Access to an area of law which is not traditional for not for profit agencies. The family law service combines funding received from the local authority for work in Newcastle with a service which charges. The service charges by the hour for an agreed amount of work and requires payment in advance. The law centre concentrates on certain specific services divorce and the paperwork required for the courts, contact issues and adoption. They do not handle cases involving financial settlements. Another important part of their work is helping the victims of domestic abuse to get the appropriate paperwork to prove eligibility for Legal Aid at which point they can be referred to a private practice provider with a contract. Lack of Legal Aid for family issues causes significant inequality in family law proceedings and access to a cheaper service helps to ensure that all parties have the opportunity to put their case. This has a definite and positive effect on the health and wellbeing of those able to get help and advice. It benefits the law centre in that the money received for the charged for services enables the agency to employ sufficient staff to deliver the service if the service grows further then more staff could be employed to make the service even more resilient. Delivering free specialist legal advice in Yorkshire and the North East 11

12 Community Care/NHS complaints work delivered by Kirklees Citizens Advice and Law Centre in Dewsbury Using two projects together to develop a more coherent service The NHS complaints service is a statutory service paid for by the local authority for the organisation to act as advocates for patients through the complaints process. This is not a service to assist clients in gaining compensation or pursuing a claim of clinical negligence but all aspects of NHS services are included for example cases include dentists removing wrong tooth, matters after death of a relative, orthodontic provision and hospital discharge. Because the project at Kirklees uses experienced workers they undertake casework and help clients using legal knowledge and skills. Where the client has social care issues (not covered by the NHS complaints service), which is often when the case concerns a hospital discharge, a community care matter can be opened (if the client is eligible for Legal Aid) to deal with this and the two cases can be run alongside each another. Even if the client is not eligible for Legal Aid the fact that the same workers deal with both areas of law means that the client has the advantage of informed and experienced workers who can address their problem in a holistic manner. Employment in Sheffield An example of a charging service embedded within a free service Sheffield Citizens Advice and Law Centre delivers some free and some charged for employment advice. This service focuses on Sheffield although the charged for service is available to everyone. It targets anyone who can pay although free initial advice is only available to those who live or work in Sheffield because it is funded by the local authority. The service delivers advice in blocks and the client is made aware of what is covered before the start of work via a signed agreement. Payment is required in advance. The project is designed to provide a service for the clients and not as a money earner but it does cover most costs of the worker. Its charges meet costs but are usually lower than those in the private sector. The free service is very useful as a source of clients for the charged for advice and representation. 12 Working together in the not for profit sector to improve access

13 Employment law delivered by Gateshead CAB To continue to provide a service after the end of Legal Aid This service is provided solely on a charged for basis through a Community Interest Company wholly owned by the CAB. The hourly rate charged is calculated to cover costs rather than to make a surplus. It has taken two years to build up sufficient business to cover costs and the CAB doubts that they would continue with this service if the current employee was to leave. Having only one employee delivering the service leaves the CIC vulnerable should he be incapacitated. The service is the only cheap employment law provider in the area but it struggles to get sufficient referrals. It provides an excellent service to the clients but its benefit to the CAB is negligible other than to retain the skills of one worker. Welfare Benefits service provided by Stockton CAB A project in partnership with MIND which reaches very vulnerable clients Close 2 Home is a partnership project led by Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind with 3 Score Years & 10 and Stockton CAB. It provides a six to ten week programme of re-ablement, confidence building and welfare optimisation intended to support its beneficiaries and to reduce the number of admissions and re-admissions to hospitals. Income maximisation is undertaken by CAB for all those who are referred to and engage with the project. Other Welfare Benefits work is also undertaken up to and including representation at tribunals. This is a project which is designed to meet all the needs of a particular group of clients and it is an example of how agencies delivering very different services can work together to benefit the client. Delivering free specialist legal advice in Yorkshire and the North East 13

14 Geographical distribution The following pages list services found throughout Yorkshire and the North East. This does not necessarily include all services delivered in each area, although every effort has been made to be as thorough as possible. It is not designed to be a guide to generalist advice provided and only key providers have been mentioned. Where no specialist advice is available from the not for profit sector it may only be accessible from private practice solicitors through Legal Aid, no-win-no-fee arrangements or via charged for services but these have not been listed. South Yorkshire Sheffield Generalist and specialist provision is delivered by Sheffield Citizens Advice and Law Centre which holds Legal Aid contracts in public law, community care, housing and welfare benefits (Upper Tribunal). Specialist provision, limited to telephone advice is also available in discrimination and employment law. Welfare benefits advice at all levels including representation is also provided. Some immigration and asylum casework is undertaken. A pilot project which charges clients for face to face employment advice and tribunal representation started in October 2014 in order to retain skills within the organisation and to attempt to fill the gap left when Legal Aid was withdrawn from employment matters. The main alternative provider in Sheffield is Shelter which delivers housing advice under a Legal Aid contract. Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster Generalist advice is provided in the not for profit sector in these towns by the relevant Citizens Advice and some independent advice centres. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Barnsley Council Welfare Rights Unit provide specialist advice in Welfare Rights in the requisite towns. 14 Working together in the not for profit sector to improve access

15 West Yorkshire Leeds No specialist services are delivered by the not for profit sector in the city with the exception of welfare benefits casework and representation by the local council welfare rights unit. Leeds Citizens Advice Bureau and other advice agencies within the city provide generalist advice. Bradford Bradford Law Centre provides a specialist service in employment, immigration and asylum law. Keyhouse provides a Legal Aid service in housing. Bradford and Airedale CAB provides generalist advice together with other local, independent charities. Wakefield Kirklees Law Centre provides an asylum service under Legal Aid in the town but there is no other specialist advice provided by the not for profit sector. Wakefield CAB provides generalist advice in the town. Dewsbury and Huddersfield The main provider in these towns and surrounding areas is Kirklees Citizens Advice and Law Centre which delivers generalist advice as well as holding Legal Aid contracts in asylum, welfare benefits (Upper Tribunal) and community care. It has recently secured a Legal Aid contract to deliver Public Law. Specialist advice in employment and discrimination is delivered by telephone only. Fusion Housing delivers specialist housing advice via a Legal Aid contract and Kirklees Benefits Advice Service also provides specialist welfare benefits advice and representation. Halifax and Sowerby Bridge No specialist provision in the not-for-profit sector. Calderdale Citizens Advice Bureau provides generalist advice in Halifax and Sowerby Bridge. Keighley, Ilkley, Otley and Shipley Keyhouse provides a Legal Aid service in housing. Bradford and Airedale CAB provides generalist advice in Keighley and Shipley, with Leeds CAB covering Otley. Delivering free specialist legal advice in Yorkshire and the North East 15

16 North Yorkshire (including York) York Specialist housing advice is offered by Keyhouse via a Legal Aid contract. Generalist advice is provided by York CAB. Harrogate and Knaresborough No specialist advice provision in the not for profit sector. Harrogate Borough Council provides Welfare Benefits advice via a specialist team. Craven and Harrogate Districts CAB provides generalist advice. Scarborough and Whitby Keyhouse provides a Legal Aid funded service in housing in Scarborough. Scarborough and District CAB provides generalist advice in Scarborough and Whitby Catterick, Richmond and Thirsk No specialist advice available in this area. Hambleton and Richmondshire CAB provides generalist advice in Richmond and Northallerton, Middlesbrough Middlesbrough has no specialist advice provision from the not for profit sector except that provided by its Welfare Rights Unit. 16 Working together in the not for profit sector to improve access

17 East Riding of Yorkshire Hull and East Riding Specialist level Welfare Benefits advice is delivered by Hull and East Riding CAB. Keyhouse provides housing advice in East Riding via a Legal Aid contract. Bridlington East Riding CAB provides generalist advice in Bridlington. Grimsby and Scunthorpe No specialist advice provision in the not for profit sector. Grimsby and Cleethorpes, and Scunthorpe and District CABx provide generalist advice in the area. County Durham Darlington The CAB in Darlington has a Legal Aid housing contract. Specialist advice is also offered by the Welfare Rights unit. Stockton Newcastle Law Centre delivers a specialist asylum service in Stockton in partnership with Justice First. Stockton Advice and Information Service delivers Welfare Benefits advice under funding from the local authority and has an Upper Tribunal contract with LAA. It also delivers some specialist advice via its advocacy service (funded by Health and Social Care), employment advice although with no representation, and has a partnership with MIND (the Closer to Home project). There is also a Welfare Rights unit in Stockton. Hartlepool Hartlepool CAB provides some specialist advice and representation in employment and Welfare Benefits although this is a small service and not specifically funded. Durham, Barnard Castle and Bishop Auckland Durham has a large CAB which has no specialist provision but covers many outlying towns/ villages. Durham Welfare Rights Unit delivers specialist welfare benefits work. Delivering free specialist legal advice in Yorkshire and the North East 17

18 Tyne and Wear Newcastle and North Tyneside Newcastle Law Centre delivers specialist employment law (telephone and face to face), family law, immigration and asylum, and education and has secured a contract to deliver public law via Legal Aid. They also provide advice and representation in family law paid for by the client at below market rates in order to give access to this important service to those otherwise unable to afford it. Housing advice is provided by Shelter. Newcastle CAB provides generalist advice. Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland Gateshead CAB delivers housing under a Legal Aid contract and also holds a contract to deliver Welfare Benefits Upper Tribunal work. It runs a chargeable service in employment law via a wholly owned community interest company in order to preserve a service for the community it serves. There is no specialist advice currently offered in Sunderland with the exception of Sunderland Welfare Rights service which is a local authority organisation and which also represents at employment tribunals. Newcastle Law Centre is in the early stages of developing a Sunderland service for immigration, asylum and family but only asylum is being delivered so far. Northumberland Northumberland DAWN provides a family law service for Northumberland based in Morpeth and Ashington. Advice is delivered under a Legal Aid contract and for work out of the scope of this funding a low cost service is available. This provides access to services for those who cannot otherwise obtain it and ensures that the family law department at the organisation is big enough to be viable. No other specialist advice is available but Northumbria CAB delivers generalist advice. 18 Working together in the not for profit sector to improve access

19 Acknowledgements Thank you to our funder the Future Advice Fund without which support this work would not have been possible. All the information in the report was gathered in 2015 and is as accurate as possible as at August Obviously, errors will creep in to this type of work and services will be mistakenly omitted and the author apologises for any errors. Information for this report was obtained through internet searches and conversations with: Nick Whittingham Chief Executive, Kirklees Citizens Advice and Law Centre Jayne Edwards Centre Director, Newcastle Law Centre Sarah Cartin Manager, Bradford Law Centre Andy Harris Head of Legal Services, Sheffield Citizens Advice and Law Centre Mike Robinson Welfare Benefits & Community Care Service Manager, Stockton and District Advice and Information Service Jackqueline Hauxwell Advice Services Operations Manager, Keyhouse Dianne Lyons Chief Executive, Leeds CAB Gillian McNulty Practice Manager, DAWN Stella Russell Development Worker, Law Centres Network Anne-Marie Benson Specialist & Projects Manager, Hull & East Riding CAB Alison Dunn Chief Executive, Gateshead Advice Centre Delivering free specialist legal advice in Yorkshire and the North East 19

20 NORTHUMBERLAND TYNE & WEAR Newcastle Gateshead COUNTY DURHAM Durham Darlington Middlesbrough NORTH YORKSHIRE Scarborough WEST YORKSHIRE Bradford Leeds Dewsbury Huddersfield York EAST RIDING Hull Sheffield SOUTH YORKSHIRE Report funded by the Future Advice Fund, a collaboration between Comic Relief, the Legal Education Foundation, Baring Foundation and Unbound Philanthropy Foundation.