This is what I'd feared. A good friend of mine is a director at a social
justice firm, one of the largest in the UK. They provide high quality
legal support to many of the most disadvantaged in society.
I've been ranting at her to get a proper campaigns person but it's hard
for a legal charity to do this. They follow their regulations strictly.
They're expecting to pass on this work to Citizen's Advice Bureau's and
other advice giving services that don't used qualified solicitors. They
may even go to a call centre approach like NHS Direct.
This is yet another change that affects the poorest in society. The
justice system is made just through the legal aid system. But Lady
Justice is becoming blinded by the measures the government are taking to
ensure the UK survives the crisis.
The legal aid system provided a safety net so people could get what they
were legally entitled too. My friend told me what would happen with
their clients. They'd come in with one problem but after speaking to
them they'd have lots more areas where they weren't getting the help
they needed. When the system was changed it made it impossible for
lawyers to give the extra time to contact social works or other welfare
staff to make sure the individual was getting their entitlement. CAB
staff are good but they're not lawyers and they don't always have that
sense of diligence either.
The state welfare system is complex and many social justice firms helped
their clients navigate it. Getting advice and support from a solicitor
is significantly different from a CAB or other advice service. Her
organisation helped me with my debt situation and I don't think I would
have survived without their help. I just wasn't in the state to do it. I
just wanted to die.
There are so many bad things happening because of the economic crisis.
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