I was surprised to read about Richard Miller's concerns at the extent of consultation over the setting-up of a community legal advice centre in Portsmouth (see [2007] Gazette, 28 June, 4).


We have previously informed national representative bodies of our plans for community legal advice services and recently provided Mr Miller with information on the proposed scheme in Portsmouth.



The Legal Services Commission (LSC) and Portsmouth City Council invited all of the contracted service providers in the Portsmouth area to a meeting on 5 March. The meeting was used to set out the aims of such services, and inform service providers of how the centre model in particular would ensure that the people of Portsmouth have access to high-quality and integrated advice services.



Following on from this meeting, the LSC issued a draft service specification that was developed in conjunction with the council. Service providers were invited to comment on the service specification and raise any questions or concerns with their LSC account manager.



In addition, Portsmouth City Council has held discussions with voluntary sector advice agencies, delivering services in the city to inform them of the current proposals.



The LSC will continue to discuss developments with service providers in Portsmouth at their regular contract meetings. We hope to announce an invitation to tender for the Portsmouth centre shortly and would encourage anyone interested in providing these services to submit a proposal for carrying out this work.



Geoff Mountjoy, regional director south and west, Legal Services Commission, Bristol