Policy

23 March, 2006

Making Legal Rights a Reality

Community Legal Service publish five year strategy

An increased focus on the needs of the client, and working in partnership, including central and local government, across the Community Legal Service (CLS) are the two key themes of the new strategy for the CLS. Published today by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) following recent consultation, it sets out thinking on how the CLS can be taken forward over the next five years. The strategy does, however, remain contingent on the findings of the imminent recommendations in Lord Carter's Review of Legal Aid Procurement.

The key proposals for the strategy are:

  • introducing Community Legal Advice Centres in the most deprived communities, with two pilots in Leicester and Gateshead already at an advanced stage;
  • introducing Community Legal Advice Networks, joining up a range of legal aid providers in larger geographical areas;
  • expansion of CLS Direct;
  • tackling the root cause of problems through strategic actions;
  • improving information and education about legal rights and responsibilities.

Introduction

The strategy states that the overwhelming majority of the legal aid budget will continue to be spent on individual acts of advice and representation delivered through specialist suppliers. The direction of the strategy will, over time, lead to fewer but larger contracts for legal aid work. The LSC state that they do not expect the number of individual specialist lawyers and advisers working in legal aid to reduce but that they will work in smaller numbers of suppliers. Two other key objectives identified are taking strategic actions to address the need for advice and representation, and information and education about legal rights and responsibilities.

Remuneration will move away from payment through hourly rates, moving to contracts containing targets on outputs from April 2007. This will also include unified contracts for both solicitors and not-for-profit agencies. Further, by 2009, the LSC will only contract with Preferred Suppliers to deliver services under the CLS (see rightsnet policy news story Quality Relationships Delivering Quality Outcomes, 21 March 2006).

Individual acts of advice and representation

Four top level objectives are described for the LSC:

  • work to ensure that services are provided in an integrated way that reflects clients' needs, including advice across different categories of law and at various levels;
  • ensure joint planning between LSC and other funders, particularly local authorities and the Welsh Assembly whilst maintaining independence;
  • devolving decisions down to local levels whenever that is consistent with national standards, budget control and value for money;
  • obtain the best possible value for money.

The LSC will develop and publish access targets for advice and representation services. These will reflect factors such as population density, as well the reality of funding levels and LSC priorities. It is stated that 'access' does not always mean face to face local services but looking at alternative forms of electronic delivery. The key is felt to be that clients know how and where to get help that is prompt and effective.

CLS Direct will continue to be expanded upon, so that it delivers 'a large proportion of LSC funded information, diagnosis and basic advice'. Additionally, it will deliver a significant proportion of specialist legal advice in social welfare law, as well as expanding to cover family law and immigration. The telephone service will be contracted out to a single, or small group of commercial service providers who will be responsible for the whole of service provision including quality of advice provided. It is stated that, in the longer term, it is unlikely that the LSC will contract directly with the advice providers.

The telephone service will be supplemented by accessible and user friendly web-based information, as well as other channels. Further, the LSC state that for certain types of cases, a face-to-face service is the best solution. In such cases, CLS Direct will refer these clients to a suitable service, including Community Legal Advice Centres and Networks (see below).

Face-to-face services

The priority for these services will be specialist advice and representation in the following areas:

  • those threatened with a loss of liberty;
  • vulnerable children;
  • those threatened with domestic violence;
  • those suffering from maladminstration or challengeable lack of public service;
  • those who are socially excluded and who need protection of law and positive help to move forward.

Face-to-face services will be provided in accordance with clear geaographical access criteria and targets. These will differ in different contract categories, so that some services may be provided on a regional, or even national basis. Services will be commissioned where clients need them most, rather than following historical patterns of supply. Many services will continue to be subject to means tests, with uniform income and capital limits.

Social Welfare Law

Face-to-face services will be commissioned in bundles of areas of social welfare law. These are:

  • community care;
  • debt;
  • employment;
  • housing; and
  • welfare benefits.

All social welfare law contract holders will also have competence to take public law cases in any areas of their core specialism. The purchasing of services will vary by geographical area, with planning and purchase occuring jointly with other funders, in particular local authorities, where practical.

In urban areas with high social deprivation, the LSC expect that, over time, suppliers will provide services ranging from basic advice to representation in all categories of their social welfare bundle. In less densely populated and larger geographical areas, the LSC are looking to develop ways in which suppliers can co-operate to give access to these services. Telephone based services are expected to be a major frontline service provider in these areas.

Community Legal Advice Centres and Networks

Community Legal Advice Centres and Networks will be developed with local authorities and other funders. These will be the models for delivery of the combined social welfare services set out above. Funding streams will be integrated so that services provide diagnosis and information through advice and assistance up to legal representation in complex court proceedings. They will be expected to target groups of people currently not accessing services, or who are particularly vulnerable.

As Preferred Suppliers, Centres and Networks will be given the flexibility to decide how best to meet needs in their area. They will also be expected to work with the LSC and other funders on strategic action to resolve the root causes of recurrent legal problems. The nature of the service to those not eligible for legal aid will depend on the extent and requirements of other funders. For example, a local authority may provide funding on the basis that it pays for non-means-tested advice or to pay for tribunal representation not covered by legal aid.

Centres

Centres will be jointly-funded legal entities providing the whole bundle of core social welfare law services. They will be used to test different ways of delivering services together, for example, through a combined 'Money Advice' debt and welfare benefits category. They will also provide family law services, as well as expanding to offer advice in education, mental health and aspects of consumer and general contract issues. They will not generally be expected to deliver legal services in remaining civil law categories or in crime, although they may do if there is a special need in their area.

Centres can be run by any appropriate provider such as a solicitors firm or not-for-profit agency. The LSC also state that they could provide opportunities for suppliers to come together to bid as consortia to provide services at a centre under one contract.

Using a benchmark of more than 50,000 benefit claimants in a local authority area with high population density, it is aniticipated that there will be 75 Centres covering around 40% of the population. Work is also being done to refine the prioritisation of these areas into a ranked list.

Networks

Community Legal Advice Networks will be a group of identifiable CLS agencies working together to deliver the same services as a Centre. The LSC expect these to jointly funded with local authorities and other funders. Organisations that make up the network will not be expected to deliver the full range of services individually. This will be done collectively by all Network members. It is expected that no matter where a client accesses a service, a case management procedure will ensure the full range of services will be available to them.

Networks will serve less densely populated and larger geographical areas, operating at county boundary level where practicable. The LSC has identified 36 areas for Networks to be established over the next 5 years, once lessons from the first Networks are learned.

Contracts

The LSC state that they are in discussion with a number of local authorities about contracts for Centres and Networks. They will be awarded during 2006/07 after a tendering process, which will be open to private sector and not-for-profit suppliers.

Following this tendering process, the LSC may or may not renew some of their other social welfare contracts from 2007, if they consider that a Centre or a Network will be supplying the same service. The approach will vary locally and by category. Announcements will be made on this issue when the tendering process is launched so that affected suppliers have the opportunity to participate in the bidding.

Outside of areas where Centres and Networks are being introduced, the LSC state they will be prepared to consider other ways of working to deliver upon their priorities. If, for example, groups of suppliers begin to develop their own network approach, this will be encouraged where funding permits if they can offer improved services, pending more formal arrangements.

There is a clear message that the direction of travel is that all legally aided social welfare advice and representation is provided by a combination of Centres, Networks, and CLS Direct.

Strategic action to address the need for advice and representation

In taking strategic action to address repeated problems caused by public services, the LSC say they will focus on:

  • raising awareness of recurrent issues through producing relevant publications and engaging with government and local communities;
  • negotiation with service providers at a senior level to highlight problems and suggest solutions;
  • funding litigation where other approaches fail.

At a local level, it is expected that Centres, Networks and other providers will also inform solutions by sharing their experience of advice services.

Other actions will be to address increases in the level of need for legal advice arising as the result of public policy developments in other Government departments. In the first instance, the LSC say they will concentrate on four areas:

  • mental health;
  • housing law;
  • welfare reform;
  • asylum and immigration.

Information and education about legal rights and responsibilities

Three main areas are identified by the LSC in ensuring that people understand their legal rights and responsibilities. They state that it is not their role to provide formal education or to duplicate information but to add value by making information more accessible or coherent. They say that they will lead on and develop information work through:

  • CLS Direct website www.clsdirect.org.uk - in particular, the range of information leaflets available;
  • syndicated information columns in the local press;
  • development of self-help packs, working with the recently established Public Legal Education Strategy Task Force.

CLS Governance

A National Forum will be established in order to assist the LSC is providing national leadership and direction for the CLS in England and Wales. This will include the other main funders of legal advice services, particularly key government departments and representatives of local government. It is proposed that a sub-group of client representatives is also set up, with the Chair of this group also being a member of the main Forum.

The LSC want this Forum to define its own Terms of Reference but also to:

  • achieve a common understanding of members' relevant agendas and how these affect the CLS;
  • listen to the views and experiences of clients;
  • endorse the way in which the LSC propose to assess need for advice services;
  • explore and propose ways to improve focus, co-ordination and effectiveness for funding the CLS; and
  • have a role in strategic action addressing the causes of problems.

At a local level, the approach described above for Centres and Networks sets out local planning and commissioning of services. The LSC do not feel that there should be one commissioning model at a local level but rather one that is best suited to:

  • involving other funders and users of advice services;
  • taking into account existing local partnerships;
  • effectively translating local area needs into a co-ordinated commissioning plan; and
  • ensuring local accountability.

The LSC will no longer facilitate Community Legal Service Partnerships (CLSP). It will be up to CLSP members to decide whether the partnership has a role to play as a provider forum. The LSC anticipate that many existing CLSPs will decide not to continue, but pledge to continue dialogue with those that do.

Suppliers who successfully obtain contracts will decide how and where best to deliver services in order to fulfil obligations around needs and accessibility targets. They will be expected to involve users in user satisfaction surveys as well as in developing new services. Data from these providers will then be used to inform funders about unmet need and may lead to additional funding for development.

At a regional level, Regional Legal Services Committees will be abolished in April 2006. The LSC will retain a regional structure, in order to allocate resources between different local authority areas, as well as cross-boundary issues and specialist services that cannot be provided at a local level. LSC budgets will continue to be devolved to regional level, with funding allocated on the basis of national priorities, regional population and acess targets, and any geographical factors. These could be expressed through a funding formula. The LSC also require regional staff to undertake elements of contract management such as building relationships with providers and local authorities.

What's next

Over the next few months, the LSC will publish information papers on 'CLS Governance', 'Information on Civil Legal Advice Centres and Networks' and 'Developing CLS Direct'. There will also be policy papers on a number of related topics such as strategy for children and family legal services, CLS in Wales, mental health services, and immigration and asylum legal services.

In particular, the final report from Lord Carter on legal aid procurement, which should be published in late Spring 2006, could influence any or all of the above.

For more information on the CLS Strategy, see the LSC website Our Strategy for the CLS: Making Legal Rights a Reality




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