Needs assessment and the Community Legal Service in England and Wales

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size

Notes

[1] ‘Justiciable’ problems are problems for which there is a potential legal remedy. See H. Genn, Paths to Justice (Oxford, Hart, 1999).

[2] Lord Chancellor's Department, Modernising Justice, Cmd. 4155 (London, HMSO, 1998).

[3] See, for example, Lord Chancellor's Department and Law Centres Federation, Legal and Advice Services: A Pathway out of Social Exclusion (London, Lord Chancellor's Department, 2001) and J. Stein, The Future of Social Justice in Britain: A New Mission for the Community Legal Service (London, Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics, 2001).

[4] Access to Justice Act 1999, §4(1).

[5] See, further, T. Goriely & A. Paterson, Introduction: resourcing civil justice, in: A. Paterson & T. Goriely (Eds) A Reader on Resourcing Civil Justice (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1996).

[6] Parenthesis added. Preface by the Chair of the Legal Services Commission, Peter. G. Birch, Legal Services Commission Corporate Plan, 2002/03–2003/04, p. 4.

[7] Lord Chancellor's Department, Legal Aid—Targeting Need, The Future of Publicly Funded Help in Solving Legal Problems and Disputes in England and Wales (London, HMSO, 1995), p. 13.

[8] Lord Chancellor's Department, Legal Services: A Framework for the Future (London, HMSO, 1989).

[9] For an overview, see for example P. Pleasence, A. Buck, T. Goriely, J. Taylor, H. Perkins & H. Quirk, Local Legal Need (London, Legal Services Research Centre, 2001).

[10] C. Clark & E. Corstvet, The lawyer and the public: an A.A.L.S. survey (1938) 47 Yale Law Journal 1992–1993.

[11] B. Abel-Smith, M. Zander & R. Brooke, Legal Problems and the Citizen: A Study in Three London Boroughs (London, Heinemann, 1973).

[12] P. Morris, R. White & P. Lewis, Social Needs and Legal Action (Oxford, Martin Robertson, 1973).

[13] For a full discussion, see P. Lewis, Unmet legal need, in: Morris et al. (Eds), Social Needs and Legal Action (Oxford, Martin Robertson, 1973).

[14] M. Blacksell, K. Economides & C. Watkins, Justice Outside the City: Access to Legal Services in Rural Britain (Essex, Longmans, 1991).

[15] Genn, Paths to Justice (Oxford, Hart, 1999).

[16] National Consumer Council, Seeking Civil Justice: A Survey of People's Needs and Experiences (London, NCC, 1995).

[17] Pleasence et al. Local Legal Need (London, Legal Services Research Centre, 2001), p. 24.

[18] See, further, R. Moorhead, Pioneers in Practice (London, Lord Chancellor's Department, 2000).

[19] See also Pleasence et al. Local Legal Need (London, Legal Services Research Centre, 2001), p. 21.

[20] See, for example, http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/partners/issue-one.pdf.

[21] P. Oakley & E. Greaves, Restructuring the organisation (1995) Health Service Journal, January.

[22] Matrix Research and Consultancy (2004), Independent Review of the Community Legal Service, London: Department of Constitutional Affairs.

[23] House of Commons Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (2004), Civil Legal Aid: Adequacy of Provision, London: Stationery Office (HC391–1).

[24] “By 31 March 2004 increase the number of people who receive suitable assistance in priority areas of law involving issues of fundamental rights or social exclusion” (SR2000/2 PSA 6).

[25] “To reduce the proportion of disputes which are resolved by resort to the courts” (SR2000 PSA 5/SR2002 PSA 3).

[26] See, for example, http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/fains.

[27] See, further, P. Pleasence, A. Buck, N.J. Balmer & A. O'Grady, Summary Technical Report on the Legal Services Commission's Small Area Models of Legal Need and the Lord Chancellor's Department's PSA Targets 3 and 6 (London, LSRC, 2002) (downloadable: www.lsrc.org.uk/publications).

[28] For example, the Community Legal Service Strategy Unit, Legal Services Commission.

[29] For further information see, for example, P. Pleasence, H. Genn, N.J. Balmer, A. Buck & A. O'Grady, Causes of action: first findings of the LSRC periodic survey of justiciable problems (2003) 30:1 Journal of Law and Society; P. Pleasence, N.J. Balmer, M. Maclean, A. Buck, A. O'Grady & H. Genn, Family problems: what happens and to whom: findings from the LSRC survey of justiciable problems (June 2003) 33 Family Law; P. Pleasence, N.J. Balmer, A. Buck, A. O'Grady & H. Genn, Family problems: who does what and when: further findings from the LSRC survey of justiciable problems (November 2003) 33 Family Law; P. Pleasence, N.J. Balmer, H. Genn, A. Buck & A. O'Grady, The experience of clinical negligence within the general population (2003) 9:6 Clinical Risk; A. O'Grady, P. Pleasence, N.J. Balmer, A. Buck & H. Genn (2004) 19:3 Disability and Society; P. Pleasence, A. Buck, N.J. Balmer, A. O'Grady & H. Genn, Causes of Action: Civil Law and Social Justice (London, The Stationary Office, 2004); K. Swales, Measuring Legal Needs: Technical Report (London: National Centre for Social Research, 2001).

[30] A more detailed description of the format and content of Strategic Plans can be found in Annex F of the Guidance for CLSPs (see http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/partners/issue-one.pdf). The aims of a Strategic Plan can be summarised as follows: to act as the first step towards co-ordinated funding by CLS Partners; to bring together and summarise the results of data-gathering and analysis; to ensure and record agreement on the way forward, priorities and the plans; to provide a document which can be put to bodies outside the partnership and hence influence their funding (e.g. regional or national funding or umbrella groups); to record material against which future variance analysis can be done.

[31] Warrington Community Legal Services Partnership Strategic Plan 2002/2003, p. 5.

[32] Moorhead, Pioneers in Practice (London, Lord Chancellor's Department, 2000).

[33] Derby CLS Partnership Strategic Plan 2001–2004.

[34] Colchester Community Legal Service Partnership, Advice Services Review Report (2002), p. 3.

[35] Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions, Indices of Deprivation 2000, Regeneration Research Summery, Number 31 (2000) or http://www.urban.odpm.gov.uk/research/summaries/03100/pdf/rrs03100.pdf.

[36] See Brighton & Hove Community Legal Service Partnership, Outline Strategic Plan January 2002 (Community Legal Service, 2002), p. 25.

[37] Hillingdon Community Legal Service Partnership, Strategic Plan for Advice Services (London, Community Legal Service/Hillingdon London Borough, 2002), p. 3.

[38] For a full discussion, see P.C. Smith, N. Rice & R. Carr-Hill, Capitation funding in the public sector (2001) 164 Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A—Statistics in Society 217–241; and P.C. Smith, Formula funding of public services: an economic analysis (2003) 19:2 Oxford Review of Economic Policy.

[39] Genn, Paths to Justice (Oxford, Hart, 1999).

[40] P. Pleasence, N.J. Balmer, A. Buck, A. O'Grady & H. Genn, Civil law problems and morbidity (2004) 58:7 Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

[41] See A. Buck, P. Pleasence, N.J. Balmer, A. O'Grady & H. Genn, Lone parents and civil law: their experience of problems and their advice-seeking behaviour Journal of Social Policy and Administration, 38:3.

[42] Pleasence et al. Causes of Action: Civil Law and Social Justice (London, The Stationary Office, 2004); A. Buck, P. Pleasence, & N.J. Balmer (2004) Social exclusion and civil law, Social Policy and Administration, 39:3.

[43] Pleasence et al. (2004), Causes of Action: Civil Law and Social Justice (London, The Stationary Office, 2004); A. Buck, P. Pleasence, & N.J. Balmer (2004) Social exclusion and civil law, Social Policy and Administration, 39:3.

[44] An alternative and more detailed analysis is set out in P. Pleasence, N.J. Balmer, A. Buck, A. O'Grady & H. Genn, Multiple justiciable problems: common clusters, problem order and social and demographic indicators (2004) 1:2 Journal of Empirical Legal Studies.

[45] L. Anderson, The law and the desert: alternative methods of delivering justice (2003) Journal of Law and Society 120–136.

[46] For further information see http://www.legalaid.qld.gov.au/gateway.asp?c = ruralregional.

[47] See http://www.lawlink.bc.ca/and http://lss.bc.ca/legal_info/law_line.asp.

[48] D. Clementi (2004) Review of the regulatory framework for Legal Services in England and Wales.

[49] British Medical Association, Domestic Violence: A Health Care Issue? (London, BMA, 1998).

[50] Additional questions will be included in the next LSRC survey to address this.