Dodgson: seeks holistic service The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has this week launched a beefed-up Web and telephone-based initiative aimed at improving access to civil legal aid for socially excluded people.

The Community Legal Service (CLS) Direct Web site: www.clsdirect.org.uk, combines the commission’s previous site JustAsk! – including the CLS directory of advisers and access to 24 information leaflets – with a new national information and advice helpline. The helpline will be staffed by 41 advisers who are employed by law firms, citizens’ advice bureaux and other not-for-profit agencies, and a commercial call centre. Callers who are eligible for legal aid will get free telephone advice, while others can order leaflets and listen to pre-recorded messages regarding debt, benefits or education problems. The new hotline will operate alongside separate regional pilots that are trialling housing and employment advice.



LSC chief executive Clare Dodgson said CLS Direct would help to provide an holistic service. ‘Helping people with legal problems is not just about making services available – it is about making them easier to access,’ she explained.


Legal aid minister David Lammy said social barriers to legal aid could often prove just as difficult to overcome as physical ones, with many people too embarrassed or confused to get face-to-face help. ‘Offering help by telephone and Internet is a vital step towards delivering improved access to justice for vulnerable and socially excluded people.’


The Legal Aid Practitioners Group said telephone and Internet services had a vital role to play in the provision of legally aided services for the socially excluded. ‘However, it is essential that these are recognised as being a complement to face-to-face services and not a replacement for them,’ director Richard Miller warned. ‘The specialist support must be available to back up these initiatives.’


Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said the service should go some way to alleviating the problems of people facing eviction, problems at work and domestic violence. ‘However, we believe this should form part of a wider government public information campaign aimed at making people aware of their rights,’ she added. ‘Such a campaign would save public expenditure in the long term, as early legal advice can prevent social problems from escalating.’