Justice secretary David Lammy has announced a £20m grant to fund free legal advice for people needing social welfare and family support – which will kick in next October when two existing grants come to an end.
Lammy said it was ‘absolutely vital that those facing some of life’s most challenging situations – such as debt, eviction, family issues – are able to access the support they need’. The £20m would ‘ensure that essential legal support and information is available to those who need it most and will put the sector on a sustainable footing’.
The three-year grant will run from October 2026 to March 2029. The Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support and Online Support and Advice grants have been extended by six months, to September 2026, to ensure continued provision.
A report published earlier this year revealed the difference that legal support can make to a person’s life. A nine-month government grant helped 100,000 clients, including a distressed 73-year-old tenant who was served with an invalid no-fault eviction notice, a person with schizophrenia struggling to challenge a welfare benefits decision and a domestic abuse victim. With legal support, the 73 year-old avoided homelessness, the person with schizophrenia received £4,830 in backdated payments and the domestic abuse victim felt confident to represent herself in court in family proceedings.
However, the report also revealed the struggles faced by advice sector organisations, who were dealing with a surge in demand for their services, increasingly complex cases, recruitment and retention challenges, and a tougher grant funding landscape.
While the £20m will be welcomed, legal aid lawyers specialising in family and social welfare work are still waiting for an increase in their fees. A fee uplift for housing and immigration work comes into force this week - the first increase in civil legal aid fees since 1996.
1 Reader's comment