I’m driven to start my first blog by the headlines about the impact of the new Legal Services Commission contract on industrial relations at Shelter. They’re not alone – the new contracts are wreaking havoc in voluntary advice agencies throughout the country. I think it’s time we fought our own corner a little harder.
Way back in 2006 we told the LSC that replacing hourly payments with fixed fees was going to be a recipe for disaster. The new fixed fee for a welfare benefit case is a princely £164 – equivalent to three hours of our casework and just twenty minutes of that of a corporate lawyer. Our average time to complete a case is six and half hours. I would say ‘you do the maths’ but the maths doesn’t add up.
The most desperate clients will inevitably suffer as hard-pressed agencies are forced to take on easier, quicker cases just in order to survive. And, as everyone involved in providing voluntary legal advice knows, there a precious few safety nets left for those clients we can’t take.
Times are hard; for government, funders, the LSC and public alike. I know that choices have to be made. I accept that ‘value for money’ is more of a mantra than ever before. So fine, let’s talk about value for money. Last year lasa’s success rate at tribunal was 85% – as opposed to a 40% success rate for clients who aren’t represented. And we know how economically devastating the fall-out from failure at tribunal can be.
I don’t think advice centres can wait until things get even worse than they are. I think we owe ourselves and, most importantly, our clients a bit better than that. It’s time to get proactive about telling the media exactly what the impact of these new contracts really is.
One way to make this case more powerfully would be to start collecting evidence from different advice agencies i.e. anecdotes on how this is affecting real, vulnerable people – the media love these human interest stories. Anyone got anything to share?
I am constantly being told how I am doing, by this I mean, how much I cost the bureau. working to pay your own wages wasn’t really why I joined the CAB. The Government really do have to look at this quickly before the scheme collapses.
Thanks for your comments Gary. I hope that my post will serve to highlight the enormous strain that the advice sector is under – and how the government is failing to put the interests of clients first.
Kind regards, Andy Gregg.