CENTRE: concern over extent of consultation as LSC presses ahead with roll-out


Portsmouth has been identified as the next location for a community legal advice centre (CLAC) as the Legal Services Commission (LSC) continues to roll out its controversial strategy for the provision of social welfare law advice, the Gazette can reveal.



A spokesman for the LSC's civil policy team said a working group comprising Portsmouth City Council and LSC representatives had just finished consulting with local suppliers.



But the Legal Aid Practitioners Group expressed concern at the extent of consultation. Director Richard Miller said: 'So far as I am aware, local [Portsmouth] solicitors have not been similarly blessed with consultation on what is happening. This raises questions about level playing fields in any tender exercise.'



Law Centres Federation director Steve Hynes said: 'This is the first I've heard of it.' A spokesman for the Hampshire Law Society also said it had not been informed of the plans.

The first CLAC - and the model for future centres that will be jointly funded by the LSC and local councils - was officially launched in Gateshead in May 2007.



The commission sent out tender documents last week for a CLAC in Derby, which will have a £2.5 million budget over three years. It also plans to re-tender for a centre in Leicester after it rejected the only bid - from the Leicester Law Centre - in December last year.



The LSC hopes the centres planned for Derby, Portsmouth and Leicester - together with the first community legal advice network in Cornwall - will be open for business by April 2008.



Paul Hillier, Gateshead CLAC manager, said it is ahead of target in the number of clients it has helped. He said: 'We have had a minimal impact on the businesses of local solicitors and have improved the experience of clients through our one-stop service.'



Jonathan Rayner