Welfare Advice: joint CAB/law centre pitch given green light in Gateshead


The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has rejected the sole bid for one of the first two community legal advice centres (CLACs), in what will be seen as a blow to its flagship policy for joined-up provision of social welfare and family law services.



While the LSC this week accepted a joint bid for the Gateshead CLAC from the local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and law centre, it rejected Leicester Law Centre's bid for the Leicester CLAC.



Leicester Law Centre practice manager Glenda Terry said it did not have the resources to commit to providing the 9,400 general help enquiries through a 'nine to five access centre' required by the tender.



It had put forward a proposal to deal with 5,000 enquiries initially, while it recruits the staff needed to cope with a higher capacity. However, this bid - which was the only one received for the Leicester CLAC - was not accepted.



Ms Terry told the Gazette the law centre was unlikely to be able to recoup the money it had spent. She added: 'If there is a new tender, it will be interesting to see whether the volume decreases. We thought the matter start targets were disproportionately high for Leicester compared to Gateshead.



'Whether we re-apply will depend on the terms. It's a question of whether you can deliver the service at the quality you want to, within the funds provided.'



Steve Hynes, director of the Law Centres Federation, said: 'Something can be salvaged from this debacle... Leicester Law Centre is an excellent service, and its recent peer review results are testament to this.'



Legal Aid Practitioners Group director Richard Miller said the Leicester tender had been a 'waste of money'.



An LSC spokeswoman said the commission was discussing new plans with Leicester Council. A timetable for a new CLAC in Derby will be announced early next year.



In Gateshead, the CAB and the law centre have joined forces with three law firms - Swinburne & Jackson, Ben Hoare Bell and David Gray - that will provide services in family, mental and community care law.



Rachel Rothwell