A charity that supports thousands of unrepresented parties every year has welcomed an announcement from the government revealing details of new funding arrangements for organisations that provide legal help.
Yesterday the Ministry of Justice announced that £4m will be awarded to help vulnerable people in civil and family legal disputes. The support will focus on early intervention to resolve issues before going to court. Grants will also fund services to help people through the court process.
Support Through Court had to launch an urgent £400,000 appeal after the government decided to change the way it distributes funds.
Eileen Pereira, chief executive, said the charity was pleased to finally see the details and would register its interest to apply for funding before 2 August. Support Through Court is also pleased that it fits the funding criteria. However, the charity is concerned how much money it will receive if successful.
Pereira said: ‘For the last eight years, we’ve received £540,000 each year from the MoJ. The new guidelines state that most grants awarded will be between £25,000-75,000, lasting only until the end of the financial year (March 2023). We are disappointed at this news as we were expecting to be able to apply for a three-year grant and this is significantly less than we were hoping.’
The charity is continuing to explore the possibility of closing some of its regional doors ‘as we need to ensure we’re being responsible with the charity’s finances’, Pereira said.
‘At such an uncertain time, we are putting all our efforts into securing funding which will enable us to keep our doors open, from the MoJ and via our emergency appeal. We do hope to be successful and to receive a sum from the MoJ that will enable us to continue to provide an outstanding service to people facing court alone.’
The ministry said the £4m is an increase on the £3m provided in previous years.
Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce welcomed the extra funding but warned that the financial backing ‘only goes so far when investment in the legal aid system is so wanting’.
She said: ‘Litigants in person often require more time and support from the courts, which is likely to slow down the system and increase overall costs. Reinstating legal aid contracts would make a cost-effective contribution to resolving the backlogs in the family courts.’
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