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2 July, 2021 Open access

Government announces additional £2 million in Covid-19 funding for advice sector in England and Wales

New funding will be allocated through the Community Justice Fund over the next 12 months, providing 'timely support' for the sector

The government has announced £2 million in additional funding to support the social welfare law advice sector in England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Further to the allocation of £5.4 million in May 2020 to establish a Community Justice Fund that has been administered by the Access to Justice Foundation (with the Law Centres Network overseeing £3m of the funding that was earmarked for law centres), the Ministry of Justice confirms that the new funding -

'... will enable specialist organisations to further invest in technology to allow remote access to services through platforms such as Zoom and Teams, hire more staff and ensure their vital services remain available despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

The move will also ensure a greater number of people can access support to resolve their issues more quickly, and away from the courtroom – helping to alleviate pressure on the justice system.'

NB - the Community Justice Fund is a joint initiative between leading social justice organisations including Advice UK, Law Centres Network, Citizens Advice, the AB Charitable Trust, Indigo Trust, and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

The government says that the new funding will be allocated over the next 12 months and will provide 'timely support' for the sector which has seen demand for its services increase over the course of the pandemic.

For more information, see Legal lifeline for people in need from gov.uk

Update (6 April 2023) - the Ministry of Justice has published an evaluation of the £2 million grant which confirms that it was distributed to 66 not-for-profit legal support organisations from August 2021 to March 2022, and that 80 per cent of the grant funding was spent on staff costs.