Law centres face risk of closure

Four London law centres - including the country's first law centre - are under threat of closure after the Association of London Government (ALG) received recommendations that it should not renew their grants on 1 April.

North Kensington Law Centre, which opened in 1970, Central London Law Centre, Hammersmith and Fulham Law Centre, and Paddington Law Centre are now waiting for the ALG's final decision, expected next week.

The ALG has received 155 bids for grants under the 'legal and advice' category: 80 have been recommended for acceptance, 75 for rejection.

Nine bids from other law centres are on the recommended list.

Bids for a total of 6 million

were received but only 3 million is

available.

The centres have the chance to provide the ALG's grants committee with extra detail on their bids ahead of its meeting next week.

However, because of the concerns, the committee will be asked to set aside 250,000 for the four centres and also the Central London Advice Service.

The five received grants totalling 430,000 last year, and had bid for 600,000 this year.

North Kensington is best placed to weather the loss, albeit with cuts to its services, as the grant accounts for around 20% of its income.

However, the grants make up more of the other centres' income.

Twelve lawyers would lose their jobs if the centres close.

It is the latest in a series of similar decisions that have hit law centres around the country.

Central London Law Centre administrator Valerie Clark said the shared 250,000 would not stop her centre from closing - at best it would keep it open for a couple of months.

The Law Centres Federation said the proposals were 'ill-conceived and misguided'.

Councillor Raj Chandarana, chairman of the ALG committee, said he recognised the good work the centres carried out, but that a key aim of the ALG was to address the lack of access to services in outer London.

Neil Rose