Council cuts reprieve for legal advice centres

The High Court has quashed a decision by administrative body London Councils to cut £10m from its £26.4m grant scheme for voluntary organisations across the capital, including legal advice centres.

The decision would have left more than 200 groups, including the Mary Ward Legal Advice Service, unable to continue providing some services.

Mr Justice Calvert-Smith ruled that the consultation process run by the group of councils before the cuts was flawed and that London Councils breached its statutory equality duties.

He quashed all the funding cut decisions for the projects affected, and said the group must re-run the process with full equality impact assessments. Louise Whitfield, associate at London firm Pierce Glynn, who acted for some of the claimants, said: ‘This case establishes that, even in the current economic climate, it remains of paramount importance that public sector funding cut decisions are properly assessed for their gender, disability and race equality impacts.

‘London Councils simply did not consider the full effect of its £10m cuts on the hundreds of voluntary sector groups and tens of thousands of members of the public who would be affected.’

She added: ‘The decision gives London Councils the opportunity to think again about withdrawing funding from the pan-London advice centres, which provide independent specialist advice and expertise within the capital.’

Margie Butler, chief executive of the Mary Ward Legal Centre, said she was ‘extremely pleased’ the challenge had succeeded. In 2009, London Councils had agreed to give the centre a grant of £83,000 per year until June 2012, to provide representation at welfare benefits tribunals. Butler said: ‘We made plans on that basis, including recruiting staff, and would not expect the contract to be withdrawn. If the cuts go ahead we won’t be able to provide the service, which helps around 200 people a year.’

A London Councils spokesman said the group did not want to comment until the judge’s full order had been made, which was expected as the Gazette went to press.

London Councils is a cross-party organisation funded and run by 32 London boroughs, as well as the City of London and other bodies.