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10 years ago I recall the then Director of The Legal Services Commission, as it then was, talking at an event and conceding that the cost to the State of every evicted tenant and their family was in the region of £200,000 +. Using a lawyer to defend possession proceedings costs a good deal less. Equally the cost to the State of homeless individuals is, when medical costs are factored in, very considerable. Far better perhaps to have lawyers deal with aspects of their homelessness applications? Sadly there is a very real public perception that since 2013 legal aid has been abolished and many people go to Court unrepresented or take to the streets as they know nothing about getting accommodation.
The time has come to tell the Good News stories. Stories about tenants who have had the good fortune not to be evicted as a result of their lawyers efforts; stories of the homeless who are now in full-time accommodation as a result of the hard work of their Lawyer. The Law Society needs some help with this. Good PR and Social Media assistance but the good news stories must be told. And soon.
Suffice it to say the Director of the Legal Services Commission to which I referred was only in post for as few months.
The Government does not always like to hear the truth, especially when the truth hurts.