Useful web sites
http://www.citizensadvice.co.uk/en/
Northern Ireland
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DoItOnlineByCategory/DG_067277
Find your local CAB
WCA:
how to prepare
WCA
Appeals: what you need to do
Debt
National
Debtline
Free
and independent advice on debt
Telephone:
0808 808 4000 (Monday-Friday, 9am -9pm; Saturday, 9.30am-1pm)
Website:
www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
Benefits/hardship
payments/Short term Budgeting loans
Homelessness
Shelter
A
national telephone advice line staffed by trained housing
advisers.
Telephone: 0808 800 4444 (8am-8pm Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm Saturday-Sunday)
Telephone: 0808 800 4444 (8am-8pm Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm Saturday-Sunday)
Websites:
http://england.shelter.org.uk and
http://scotland.shelter.org.uk
Homeless
UK
This
has an online database search allows you to search, by area, for organisations
providing benefits and debt advice.
Website:
www.homelessuk.org
DIAL
There
are around 120 local Disability Information and Advice Line services (DIALs) run
by disabled people and now taken over by the SCOPE charity
For
area coverage see: www.scope.org.uk/services/local-groups/dial-uk.
Part
2
Free
legal assistance list with thanks to Inclusion London
Bar
Pro Bono Unit
Who
are they?
A
charity that helps to find pro bono legal assistance from volunteer barristers
for individuals and organisations who cannot afford to pay and who cannot obtain
public funding (legal aid).
What
do they do?
The
Unit matches barristers prepared to undertake pro bono work with those who need
their help. The office itself does not give advice.
The
volunteer barristers can provide advice, representation and help at mediation;
representation in any court/tribunal; give legal advice on any subject; and
draft documents such as skeleton arguments.
How
do you access the service?
- They cannot accept applications unless they come via a referrer (generally, an advice agency such as the CAB or a Law Centre, or a local MP)
- Visit the website www.barprobono.org.uk
- For more information if you are an individual needing help Click Here
- Submit a query via contact form Click Here
Community
Legal Advice
Who
are they?
A
free and confidential advice service in England and Wales paid for by legal
aid.
What
do they do?
Provide
free help or legal advice over the phone. They can help with family, debt,
housing, employment, education, welfare benefits and tax credits
problems.
They
will check to see if you are eligible for legal aid and put you in touch with a
specialist legal adviser, or refer you to other agencies of you do not qualify
for their services.
Has a free translation service available in 170 languages.
How
do you access the service?
- Telephone 0845 345 4 345 (Open Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 8.00 pm. Saturday 9.00 am to 12.30 pm. Calls cost 4p per minute from a BT landline; cost from mobiles will be more)
- Request a call back
-Via online form Click
Here
-Text ‘legalaid’ then your name to 80010 (Call back within 24
hours)
- Talk to an advisor in BSL via webcam Click Here (Service provided by RAD Legal Services)
- Visit the website www.direct.gov.uk
Disability
Law Service (England and Wales only)
Who
are they?
A
national charity run by disabled people, which specialises in free legal advice
and information for disabled people, their families and carers.
What
do they do?
They
provide free legal advice and representation (e.g. in complaints, using the
Ombudsman, tribunals and courts), specialising in Welfare Benefits; Community
Care; Disability Discrimination in Employment, Access to Goods and Services; and
using the Equality Duty to challenge public authorities.
They run a free legal advice line, open Mon-Friday, 10am–5pm, with an answering machine service for out of hours calls.
They run an Employment Law drop in at their office in Tower Hamlets, where a member of their legal team will assess whether you are financially eligible for legal aid under the Legal Services Commissions (LSC) Legal Help scheme.
They also have factsheets available to download on key areas of the law, such as Community Care; education; employment; goods and services; and welfare benefits. The factsheets are available for download in different formats – regular, large print, text only and audio file.
They commit to responding to telephone enquiries within 24 hours, and written enquiries within 7-10 days.
How
do you access the service?
- Visit the website www.dls.org.uk
- For Employment drop in information Click Here
- For factsheets Click Here
- Email advice@dls.org.uk
- Via online form www.dls.org.uk/Advice/written_submission.html
- Adviceline 020 7791 9800
- Fax 020 7791 9802
- Address – Disability Law Service, 39-45 Cavell Street, London, E1 2BP
Free
Representation Unit (FRU)
Who
are they?
A
charity that provides free legal representation for the public and advocacy
experience for junior lawyers.
What
do they do?
Provide
legal advice, case preparation and advocacy in employment tribunals (and appeals
from decisions of the employment tribunals); social security appeals in the
first-tier tribunal (and appeals from such decisions); and criminal injury
compensation cases.
How
do you access the service?
- *Do not accept cases directly from members of the public – all cases must come through a referral agency. For a list of referral agencies, Click Here
- Visit the website www.thefru.org.uk
LawWorks
Who
are they?
A
charity that works with law firms and legal professionals to involve them in
delivering pro bono work.
What
do they do?
Aim
to provide free legal help to those who cannot afford to pay for it and who are
unable to access legal aid.
Services
to individuals include free Legal Advice Clinics, free mediation to settle
disputes out of court, and free casework assistance if you need more than
one-off advice.
Who
are they for?
Individuals
How
do you access the service?
- Visit the website www.lawworks.org
- Find your nearest free Legal Advice Clinic Click Here
- For more information on Free mediation Click Here
- For more information on Free Casework Assistance Click Here
- Switchboard 020 7092 3940
- E-mail enquiries@lawworks.org.uk
ProBonoUK.net
Who
are they?
A
charity that run a website for the promotion of pro bono legal work.
What
do they do?
Act
as a resource for news andinformation about pro bono work for individuals,
advice workers and lawyers wishing to offer help.
How
do you access the service?
- Visit the website www.probonouk.net
RAD
Legal Services: BSL
Who
are they?
A
dedicated legal advice service for Deaf BSL users provided by the Royal
Association of Deaf People (RAD).
What
do they do?
RAD
Legal Services currently has three projects: a Discrimination Advice project, a
Webcam Advice Project and a Money Advice Service project.
Discrimination Advice gives free specialist legal advice on discrimination issues in the areas of employment, housing, education and goods, facilities and services. This is provided by a Deaf solicitor, and can be delivered face to face, via webcam, email, telephone or instant messaging software.
Webcam Advice is the BSL version of the Community Legal Advice Helpline, and is available free of charge to people eligible for legal aid in the areas of welfare benefits, debt, housing and employment. As well as webcam, they can also provide advice via instant messaging software such as Windows Live Messenger, ooVoo, etc.
Money Advice Service has a qualified Money Adviser giving free, clear and ‘jargon-free’ Money Advice money advice to D/deaf and hard of hearing people who live in the South East. The Service covers the savings and investments; borrowings (credit cards, loans and mortgages); retirement planning and pensions; redundancy; tax and tax credits; insurance; debt; starting a family; and budgeting.
How
do you access the service?
- Visit the website www.radlegalservices.org.uk
- For the Money Advice Service Click Here
- Via online contact form www.radlegalservices.org.uk/contact-us/
- Email legal@royaldeaf.org.uk
- Mobile 07749 965725
Other
links
Advice
Guide
Citizen’s
Advice Bureau (CAB) online advice resource.
www.adviceguide.org.uk
www.adviceguide.org.uk
Citizen’s
Advice Bureau (CAB)
The
website of the national advice agency, including Search for your nearest
CAB.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk
www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Law
Centres Federation
The
umbrella organisation that supports and promotes UK Law Centres. For a list of
London’s Law Centres, visit
www.lawcentres.org.uk/directory/location/London
www.lawcentres.org.uk/directory/location/London
Legal
Adviser Finder
Find
legal advisers or solicitors near you
http://legaladviserfinder.justice.gov.uk/AdviserSearch.do
http://legaladviserfinder.justice.gov.uk/AdviserSearch.do
