Andy Burnham is facing calls to ensure free legal support for vulnerable families facing eviction, debt, abuse and exploitation is funded in the long term. The plea comes after the government announced a £16million lifeline to help dozens of community law centres across the country over the next three years. This support is expected to help tens of thousands of people most at risk of crises including homelessness, domestic abuse, immigration disputes, access to benefits and hardship after being scammed.
Government announces £16m funding for law centres
Courts minister Sarah Sackman this week told The Mirror it was "brilliant" that essential services are protected until 2029 after the government announced it was investing in new legal support grants. Speaking at the North Kensington Law Centre, in the shadow of Grenfell Tower, Ms Sackman said: "When ministers like me talk about things like access to justice, this is exactly what we mean - justice on your doorstep. What they do is they provide the right advice at the right time to people who need it."
She added: "They support communities by providing early legal support so that problems such as debt, such as people falling into housing difficulties or trying to maybe leave an abusive relationship, so that those problems don't escalate, so that people know their rights and that they can enforce them."
Law centres 'as important as the NHS'
A new Legal Support Grant will support 48 frontline organisations in England and Wales which provide help at the toughest times in their lives. Franck Kiangala, director at the North Kensington Law Centre - one of the recipients - said: "We have been reliant for a long time on grant funding, on private generous donors, on support from corporate firms, but that is not the way to run an essential service.
"You wouldn't do that with the NHS, and the law centres movement is just as important as the NHS. With the NHS, you have funding set by Parliament. The role that law centres play in society is on par with the role that the NHS plays in society. We equalise, we support individuals, we make society better and more cohesive."
The centre has been awarded £375,000 of government funding until March 2029 to help keep it running. Ms Sackman said: "That's brilliant news. What it means is that they can plan for the next several years to support solicitors, advisers who are giving help and advice right here in the community."
Demand for services 'huge'
The minister, herself a lawyer who has volunteered in a free legal centre in the capital, said: "The demand is huge. We're here in a community that there are huge problems and huge challenges in. We see people from all backgrounds who are facing challenges with the cost of living, housing insecurity, people who might have a problem at work with an unscrupulous employer, a landlord who perhaps has hiked the rent and isn't being reasonable."
During her visit she met two mums who had been given life-changing support when they faced being made homeless. Last year the centre provided free legal support for over 1,200 people.
Call for long-term funding plan
Mr Kiangala said: "We are a law firm for the poor, the vulnerable, and the disadvantaged. Our main aim is to create access to justice in areas of social welfare law where individuals who are vulnerable, who are disadvantaged, would otherwise not be able to receive specialist legal advice."
He praised the government for recognising this and putting funding in place for the next three years. He said: "It's been like going through the desert and you're really, really thirsty, and then you see water in front of you and it's not a mirage, it is proper water and you can drink. This is what the Legal Support Grant has done for us. It has removed a pressing worry in our head in terms of how can we continue supporting our local community? So it's great, because in the medium term, three years we're looking at, we know that we will be present, we will be able to support the local community."
But he urged ministers to draw up a long-term plan to ensure everyone has access to legal services. Mr Kiangala said: "I would like to see tangible proposals for funding, sustainable funding for law centres yesterday, the day before yesterday. It's actually quite disheartening to realise that this is an issue we've had for many, many, many, many years. In an advanced society like ours, a society that prides itself on the rule of law, we should not be having this conversation, we know that there are people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer, but we have not yet been able to find a system that will enable them to get that representation."
The government said the grants, which are administered by the Access to Justice Foundation, form part of its work to give struggling families vital breathing space.
