Scottish Legal Aid Board funds Disability Legal Advice Project in Lanarkshire

* 23% of Lanarkshire population could benefit from improved access to specialist legal advice

* Scottish Legal Aid Board appoints solicitor to provide specialist legal advice to clients with disabilities and local advice agencies in Lanarkshire

EMBARGOED: 11AM, THURSDAY 26TH OCTOBER 2006

Press release issued by the Scottish Legal Aid Board, Citizens Advice Scotland, Capability Scotland, Update and the Disability Rights Commission

The Scottish Legal Aid Board today (Thursday 26th October 2006) announced the launch of a new project aimed at providing specialist legal advice to clients with disabilities in Lanarkshire. With funds made available by the Scottish Executive under Part V of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986, the Scottish Legal Aid Board has appointed Anthony Horan to work with Citizens Advice Scotland, Capability Scotland, Update (Scotland’s National Disability Information Service) and the Disability Rights Commission to respond to the identified lack of access by disabled people to legal advice in Lanarkshire, as well as to improve advisers knowledge of legal issues relating to disability.

Speaking at the launch of the project at the South Lanarkshire Disability Forum’s Roadshow in Larkhall, Lindsay Montgomery, Chief Executive of the Scottish Legal Aid Board said;

“The Board is delighted to be supporting this innovative legal advice project which sees us continue to open up access to legal advice by delivering services in new and different ways and in non-traditional settings. I am delighted the Board is joining forces with Citizens Advice Scotland, Capability Scotland, Update and the Disability Rights Commission and look forward to seeing improvements in the availability of legal advice for clients with disabilities and for the agencies trying to assist them”.

It is estimated that around 23% of the population in Lanarkshire have a disability or long-term illness, (above the national average of 20%) and that they may benefit from improved legal advice relating to issues such as the Disability Discrimination Act, Housing, Community Care, Adults with Incapacity. Through funding the “Part V” project, the Scottish Legal Aid Board hopes to be able to raise standards and extend access to legal advice for disabled people in Lanarkshire as well as assist advice agencies in providing expert advice and representation on a range of disability issues.

Anthony Horan, the solicitor employed by the Scottish Legal Aid Board to work on the Disability Legal Advice Project added;

“I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues in the advice and commercial legal sectors in Lanarkshire to highlight specialist areas of knowledge they may have that would be of help to clients with disabilities and to working with them in developing expertise and understanding in this area. With improved communication and co-operation between agencies and the commercial sector we can hope to increase accessibility and availability of such services to the benefit of clients with disabilities across the region”.

Anthony Horan’s position as a “Part V” solicitor, will be funded initially for two years and will cover the whole of Lanarkshire. Based at the South Lanarkshire Disability Forum in Hamilton, he is responsible for providing the secondary advice service and training programme for advice agency staff and local solicitors, as well as taking on his own limited amount of legal aid casework.

Kaliani Lyle, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Scotland said;

“New legislation has given people with disabilities increased protection and empowered them to insist on equal treatment. And we welcome this.

“But this means the need for expert advice has also increased. This new initiative will underpin the help that Citizens Advice Bureaux offer with specialist legal back-up. It will strengthen CAB advisers confidence in challenging discrimination and prejudice against people with disabilities. And it will enhance the help we can offer to a constituency that, too often, has had to put up with treatment that most of us would not stand for.”

Recent research has shown that up until now, only a very limited specialist disability legal advice service has been available anywhere in Scotland. Furthermore, the research states that a key barrier to disabled people exercising their rights is advice agency advisers’ lack of knowledge of legal issues relating to disability, coupled with a lack of in-depth advice and support for representation on areas of law which particularly affect disabled people.

Lynn Welsh, Head of Scottish Legal Affairs at the Disability Rights Commission concludes;

“We are delighted to see this project finally get off the ground after many years of effort by all those involved in the partnership.

“We hope this post will address the difficulties disabled people have in getting legal advice, whether as a result of their disability itself, the lack of legal help available in certain specialist areas or because of a lack of awareness of the legal support which is available”.

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Further information suitable for features, such as project profiles, case studies and photography, as well as contact details for a spokesperson for each project are available on request from the Board.

2. The Part V project will be managed by a cross agency steering group consisting of representatives from;

* Citizens Advice Scotland

* Capability Scotland

* Update (Scotland’s National Disability Information Service)

* Disability Rights Commission

3. Day to day Management will lie with Citizens Advice Scotland

4. The funding for the Disability Legal Aid Project has been allocated under Part V of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986. This provides for the Board to employ solicitors to act for people receiving legal aid, to give advice and assistance and to work with local organisations. Under Part V projects, the Scottish Legal Aid Board employs the solicitor who works in the advice organisation. The Scottish Executive funding meets the costs of the solicitors and running costs of the projects, such as administration.

5. Legal aid allows people who would not otherwise be able to afford it to get help for their legal problems. Legal aid and advice and assistance can only be accessed through a solicitor. The Scottish Legal Aid Board’s mission is to promote the development and delivery of appropriate access to quality legal assistance for those eligible, in a cost-effective manner. In 2003-2004 £146 million was spent on providing legal aid.

6. Citizens Advice Scotland is the umbrella body for Scottish Citizens Advice Bureaux.  There are now 76 CAB offices across Scotland, which operate from over 200 service points, and which form the country’s largest independent advice network.  Each CAB is an independent charity and offers free, independent and confidential advice to the public on a wide range of issues.  85 per cent of CAB workers are trained volunteers.

7. For more information, visit the Board's website www.slab.org.uk or www.cas.org.uk

AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW:

- Anthony Horan, Scottish Legal Aid Board Solicitor for the Disability Legal Advice Project

- Chloe Clemmons, Advisory Officer, Citizens Advice Scotland

CLIENT CASE STUDIES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

For further press information contact:

Katie Ronald: Mob : 07908 61 64 62 Email : katieronald@hotmail.co.uk

Anthony Horan: Tel : 01698 284589 Mob 07738882732 Email : Anthony.horan@cas.org.uk

Web : www.slab.org.uk or www.cas.org.uk