The government has launched a grass-roots review of the Community Legal Service (CLS), which includes the proposal that the Treasury should commit to adequate funding for the long-term future of the service.
Unveiling a consultation last week - following the Matrix review of the service earlier this year - the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) said there was room for improving the way civil legal aid was delivered, particularly in terms of transparency and accountability and developing CLS partnerships.
Suggestions include the creation of a three-year strategy, including setting up one-stop advice shops. It also moots a development fund for creating new services and improving access and referrals.
Another proposal is that the DCA should ‘undertake more robust legislative impact analysis and seek a commitment from the Treasury or other government departments that the DCA’s budget will increase by the amount necessary to meet increased demand due to new legislation’.
Legal aid minister David Lammy admitted there was ‘a great deal of unmet need’ in helping the socially excluded. ‘We have to consider whether we should make changes to the structure of the CLS in order to make it more effective,’ he said. The deadline for consultation responses is 17 September.
Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva welcomed the review. ‘We expect this consultation to be instrumental in implementing the Matrix recommendations, such as protecting the civil legal aid budget from the impact of the overspend on criminal legal aid,’ she said.
The Legal aid Practitioners Group backed the basis of the review. ‘The Matrix report gave a very fair summary of some of the problems facing the CLS,’ director Richard Miller said.
Meanwhile, charity Citizens Advice has called for an overhaul of the contracting system through a model based on the private finance initiative, with contracts guaranteed for 25 years and underpinned by shared risks. Short-term contracts for other projects should also be made available, it said. Chief executive David Harker predicted that this would encourage alternative methods of delivery and enable each project to be evaluated on its own terms. ‘We need a clearer distinction between long-term contract funding and short-term project funding,’ he insisted.
Unveiling a consultation last week - following the Matrix review of the service earlier this year - the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) said there was room for improving the way civil legal aid was delivered, particularly in terms of transparency and accountability and developing CLS partnerships.
Suggestions include the creation of a three-year strategy, including setting up one-stop advice shops. It also moots a development fund for creating new services and improving access and referrals.
Another proposal is that the DCA should ‘undertake more robust legislative impact analysis and seek a commitment from the Treasury or other government departments that the DCA’s budget will increase by the amount necessary to meet increased demand due to new legislation’.
Legal aid minister David Lammy admitted there was ‘a great deal of unmet need’ in helping the socially excluded. ‘We have to consider whether we should make changes to the structure of the CLS in order to make it more effective,’ he said. The deadline for consultation responses is 17 September.
Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva welcomed the review. ‘We expect this consultation to be instrumental in implementing the Matrix recommendations, such as protecting the civil legal aid budget from the impact of the overspend on criminal legal aid,’ she said.
The Legal aid Practitioners Group backed the basis of the review. ‘The Matrix report gave a very fair summary of some of the problems facing the CLS,’ director Richard Miller said.
Meanwhile, charity Citizens Advice has called for an overhaul of the contracting system through a model based on the private finance initiative, with contracts guaranteed for 25 years and underpinned by shared risks. Short-term contracts for other projects should also be made available, it said. Chief executive David Harker predicted that this would encourage alternative methods of delivery and enable each project to be evaluated on its own terms. ‘We need a clearer distinction between long-term contract funding and short-term project funding,’ he insisted.
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