Legal Aid Minister visits Community Legal Advice Network
22 March 2010
Legal Aid Minister, Willy Bach, visited the East Riding Community Legal Advice Network on Friday, 19th March. The Network, opened on 1st March 2010 and run by East Yorkshire Citizens Advice Bureau in partnership with Switalskis Solicitors, offers a full range of legal advice to people across the East Riding from simple, 'next steps' advice through to representation in court. The areas of law covered by the network include community care, debt, employment, housing and welfare benefits.
The Network has three permanent sites, in Bridlington, Goole and Beverley, and provides a truly local service for the rural and remote areas of the East Riding through ten outreach clinics. Services are also available via CitizenLink, East Riding of Yorkshire Council's video link network.
Switalskis Contracts Manager, Pete Woods, was in the East Riding with the East Yorkshire CAB team to meet Lord Bach.
Lord Bach said: 'Many people in the East Riding require legal help every year, and the new Community Legal Advice Network aims to handle around 6,000 cases in the first year. This will allow people, who previously had limited contact with legal assistance, to access and tap into the full range of legal services from basic advice to specialist representation in the highest courts.
'It is my absolute priority to ensure that as many people as possible can receive the legal help and advice they need, and I am confident that the East Riding Community Legal Advice Network will help thousands of people in the local community every year.
'I have been visiting Community Legal Advice services right around the country and have seen, first-hand, the terrific job they are doing helping people with everything from debt, welfare, housing, family and employment problems. I am convinced that by helping the people of the East Riding with early legal advice and help, we can save them time, money and stress and also prevent problems from escalating into more serious issues.'
Lord Bach also remarked that Switalskis and East Yorkshire CAB, 'deliver an excellent service to the local community, assisting hundreds of vulnerable people with their legal problems every year.'
The Network is the first of its kind in the UK and has been created to help address the particular challenge of delivering legal services across a predominantly rural area. It ensures provision of legal advice is now much easier to access for people across the East Riding.
Julie Parkin, Legal Services Commission Area Relationship Manager, said: 'By working with local partners, we have been able to pool our resources and expertise to provide the full range of services needed. In this way, local people will be able to get the expert advice and help they need and to resolve problems more quickly and effectively. We hope services such as the East Riding CLA Network will help increasing number of people, many of whom are facing financial hardship and related problems as a result of the recession.'
Councillor Jonathan Owen, Deputy Leader of the Council, said: 'I'm delighted that by close partnership working, especially in a time of economic hardship, we will be able through the CLA Network, to deliver a much improved range of legal and other advice services and help to those residents who need that single point of help.'
Photographs of Lord Bach's visit to the East Riding CLA Network are on the Ministry of Justice website. Click here to visit the site (link will open in a new window).
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