As the cost of living rises, the need for free legal help with debt, benefits, housing, asylum and domestic violence is now greater than ever. For 20 years the London Legal Walk organised by the London Legal Support Trust (LLST) has been bringing together the legal community to support free legal advice services on the frontline:
#TeamJPC will be taking part in the London Legal Walk on Tuesday 18th June 2024.
Why was LLST founded?
London Legal Support Trust was started in 2003 to help with the issue of insufficient funding for those who needed to access legal advice. Since then, with the support of the legal profession, LLST has raised millions of pounds to support legal advice centres in London and the South East to improve access to justice.
Sadly, the amount of funding directed towards legal aid and local authorities has reduced drastically since LLST was founded. As a result, this has forced agencies to close and in the current climate, the number of free legal advice agencies has dropped considerably.
The issues people face
There is little public funding available for many of the problems which have a significant impact on people’s lives. For instance, claiming the welfare benefits to which they are entitled; employment disputes, concerning a wide range of issues including pay, conditions of work, harassment and bullying; immigration and asylum issues, which force people to live apart from their loved ones; discrimination in accessing goods and services; housing, including homelessness advice and disrepair cases; and community care support to give people the best possible quality of life.
Funding cuts and response
The “LASPO” legal aid cuts in legal aid funding in 2013 removed swathes of funding from social welfare law, while austerity created a greater need. LLST responded by providing key advice agencies with funds to maintain their infrastructure and retain staff in order to provide as much advice as possible. LLST also provided emergency funding to agencies to ensure their doors remained open to people who needed their services desperately.
More information about London Legal Support can be found on their website: https://londonlegalsupporttrust.org.uk/
#TeamJPC are stepping up for justice and will be taking part in the London Legal Walk so we too can assist support over 100 free legal advice charities to help them provide more free specialist legal advice.
Please support JPC help support the LLST. Thank you from #TeamJPC!
