Page 57 - Solving Housing Disputes

centres against rising operating costs and reduced capacity for local authorities to
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fund them, has seen the number of law centres nationally halve. People are
struggling to access timely legal advice, assistance and representation, even
though the beneficial impact of early legal advice is widely acknowledged. In
2017, Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Law Society conducted an online survey of
8,192 participants with an array of civil legal problems, with emphasis placed on
welfare benefits, homelessness and eviction proceedings. The report found early
advice had a significant impact on getting issues resolved. “Participants in the
survey who did not receive early advice were, on average, 20% less likely to have
resolved their issue at a particular point in time (compared to those who did
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receive early advice).” The Low Commission cited extensive global evidence
demonstrating the economic benefit of early legal advice across housing, benefits
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and debt advice in reducing downstream costs for other public services related
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to homelessness, poor health outcomes and work productivity. There is an

132 From 94 in 2013/14 to 47 as of July 2019, Bowcott, ‘Legal advice centres in England and Wales
halved since 2013-14’, Guardian Online, 15 July 2019, available at
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/jul/15/legal-advice-centres-in-england-and-wales-halved-since-
2013-14

133 Ipsos MORI, ‘Analysis of the potential effects of early advice/intervention using data from the Survey
of Legal Needs’, (November 2017) p. 6 available at https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-
services/research-trends/research-on-the-benefits-of-early-professional-legal-advice/ p.6.

134 Research suggests that that a typical young person with a civil legal problem will cost local health,
housing and social services around £13,000 if they cannot access early advice, Balmer, N.J. and
Pleasence, P. The Legal Problems and Mental Health Needs of Youth Advice Service Users, (Youth
Access, 2012) available at https://baringfoundation.org.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2014/09/YAdviceMHealth.pdf

135 A 2010 Citizens Advice report suggested that for every £1 spent on legal aid, the state saves £2.34
from housing advice; £2.98 on debt advice; and £8.80 from benefits advice. Citizens Advice, ‘Towards
a business case for legal aid. Paper to the Legal Services Research Centre’s eighth international researc
h conference’, (2010) available at https://www.accesstojusticeactiongroup.co.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2011/07/towards_a_business_case_for_legal_aid.pdf The largest body of evidence in
the report on the economic benefits of early legal advice derives from the US, where a study into legal
aid in Nebraska suggested that legal aid brings money into an area in various ways. These include national
funding for a local service, via benefits awarded through successful outcomes which benefit clients and
promote spending and the indirect benefits that accrue from legal aid services which might be described
as downstream: improved quality of life, tax savings for the state and economic development. The
ultimate benefit for Nebraska was estimated to be $13.5 million compared to the cost for Nebraska of
$3.4 million – for every dollar invested the government saves $3.97, Feelhaver and Deichert, ‘The
economic impact of legal aid in Nebraska – 2007’, (Center for Public Affairs Research, University of
Nebraska, 2008)

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