Panel calls for NHS Direct for law

The consumer panel has called on the government and regulators to set up a service similar to NHS Direct for the legal services sector to boost consumer empowerment and increase competition.

In a report published this morning the panel, an advisory unit within the Legal Services Board, said legal information was scattered across a number of organisations and resources, making it difficult for consumers to understand the law or how to deal with lawyers.

“Consumers are not using their buying power because the information they need is spread across different websites when instead it needs to be joined up in one place,” the panel said in Empowering consumers, Phase One Report.

Lack of trust in the system was a major obstacle, according to panel chair Elisabeth Davies (pictured), who said better information would not be enough to promote competition, and that “unless consumers trust lawyers and have confidence in regulators to protect them from harm, they’re likely to stick with what they know rather than switch to new providers”.

Recommending a feasibility study into setting up the equivalent of NHS Direct for law, the panel said a similar web-based service would “help people diagnose the problems they face and signpost them to the right support.”

At present, it said, consumers looking for information on the law and lawyers had to piece together information from guides on the websites of professional or advice bodies, regulators, and the Legal Ombudsman.

In a damning comment on the lack of consumer empowerment in the sector, the report said professional services were “poorly rated” by consumers, and within legal services in particular that consumers found it “particularly difficult” to compare quality and price.

Its research revealed “problems of low trust in providers and little faith in regulators, knowledge gaps about consumer rights and of what lawyers do, inaction in response to some serious legal issues, lack of shopping around and minimal use of choice tools, communication breakdown while cases are progressing, and some serious barriers to complaining.”

These “inherent features” of the market would be difficult to overcome, the report went on, suggesting that empowering consumers will first require the setting up of a “protection framework fit for purpose”.

It should be the LSB’s responsibility, it said, to set the right strategic direction for the market. But the report also suggested building on existing initiatives, such as making a more concerted use of Citizens Advice or the Money Advice Service as “delivery partners”.

The panel also advocated consolidating work around “choice tools” such as accreditation schemes and comparison websites, “which need regulators’ support to gain more credibility with consumers”.