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It is a shame that there wasn’t more publicity about this Application previously, as I suspect the Law Centres in question would have found the CAB (or Citizens Advice as they are now known) , and others, joining them as a parties to the Application. I hope The Law Centers Network are not fighting it alone.

While not associated with the CAB presently, for many years while still a Solicitor in private practice I gave freely of my time for several hours a week, long before pro bono work became trendy, the majority of which was spent running a free advice desk and representation service at the local County Court on days specifically set aside for possession and other housing claims by agreement with the Court Manager. The CAB in question did not have legal aid funding, and had not been successful in seeking grant funding for that much needed project from other sources.

It was something I felt then and still feel particularly strongly about. As an Officer of the Court I have always felt that one of our responsibilities is to help and assist those otherwise not able to help themselves. I will limit myself to that comment and avoid any further discussion about pro bono activity in its current form. I sought no publicity or reward whatsoever for what I did, but it undoubtedly made a difference for a great many people. For that reason I choose to remain anonymous for this post.

The Law Centres, Housing Advice Centres, and Citizens Advice perform an absolutely vital service. Moving the goalposts, the ultimate consequence of which might be to send many of these essentially into oblivion, is utter and complete nonsense. While the ideal would be for HMG and the Ministry of Justice urgently to reconsider the consequences as part of fresh root and branch review of the provision of specific aspects of civil justice and its funding, I suspect that’s just about as likely as the plump pink thing with a curly tail that just flew past !

It is beginning to look more likely sadly that before long possession and housing cases will simply become decision by algorithm as part of the brave new world of computerised and digitised Justice, towards which it would appear we are inexorably heading.