People facing debt, housing and family problems could soon get easier access to legal advice under Legal Services Commission (LSC) proposals that would change the way it buys civil legal aid services.

A consultation document on the procurement and delivery of legal aid services from 2010 onwards outlines how, in future, the LSC wants to buy bundles of certain types of advice on commonly linked legal problems to mirror how people experience them. 

Legal categories do not reflect the way people experience problems and research shows that many people stop seeking the help they need when they are constantly referred on.

In the past, for example, someone suffering crippling debt who could then not meet their housing payments which led to family tensions may have had to seek help from multiple law firms and advice agencies to deal with all their problems.

Now, where possible, the LSC wants people to be able to access a seamless service through one contact point that covers their connected problems and offers everything from basic advice to legal representation in the highest courts.

This consultation is a stepping-stone toward the LSC’s ultimate aim of single Social Welfare Law contracts in the 134 areas. That means all five categories of law could eventually be bought together.

Under these proposals, expert ‘Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme’ practitioners will continue to deliver free, last-minute help in courts to anyone about to lose their home or be evicted by their landlord.

The LSC accepts that smaller providers could find it difficult to widen their area of expertise so is suggesting a consortium approach. This would allow several applicants to jointly bid to supply the broader range of services.