Advice agencies should consider charging, Lord Low says

Lord Low, the crossbench peer and chairman of the Low Commission on the future of legal advice and support, has called on advice agencies to consider charging for "accessible and affordable" services as part of their response to LASPO.

He said this was among the initial findings of his commission, which will publish its draft report for consultation in September.

Others include imposing the 'polluter pays' principle on companies like Capita, where they are to blame for administrative mistakes.

Lord Low also called for a single national helpline and web site to provide general legal advice, by merging the CAB and MoJ advice lines and web sites and bringing in a commercial partner.

Speaking at today's LegalVoice 2013 conference on surviving LASPO, he said: "We won't be seeking to restore the status quo ante. We are seeking to achieve more with less and preventing the need for advice from arising in the first place."

Lord Low said a key audience for the Low Commission report were the political parties, which would be drafting their manifestoes this autumn for the 2015 general election.

"It's important that the next government develops a national strategy for legal advice and support," he said. "We will be making the case for some central government investment now to reduce the need for spending further down the line."

Other ideas from the commission were more use of adjudication and mediation in place of the courts and increased use of ombudsman schemes.

The disability campaigner called on the advice agencies to improve case management and reduce the use of complicated forms and letters. He said there was "considerable scope" for agencies to work together and to merge.

Lord Low said the money raised from 'polluter pays' fines should be used to form the basis of a national legal support fund, which could be administered by the Big Lottery Fund, and would spend £50m every year for ten years.

He said the Access to Justice Foundation could be boosted by receiving interest on dormant accounts held by solicitors and unclaimed damages.

He added that by investing in information, advice and legal support, "some of the more undesirable consequences" of LASPO could be avoided and the government would end up saving money.

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