The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has an important role in the social exclusion agenda. We are promoting the benefits of good early advice services for those most in need. Evidence shows that this can prevent relatively simple civil legal issues spiralling into more complex problems. We are also encouraging closer working across Whitehall. Our role is crosscutting in highlighting the worth of advice services to Government colleagues. DCA is also the facilitating Department for other Government Departments that require a final remedy to be decided upon by a court or tribunal.
Specialisation and innovation in the courts system is also relevant. We are looking at both preventing crime through community justice initiatives, and re-integrating offenders into society. The Community Justice Centre in North Liverpool is spearheading such an approach.
Another main area of influence is the role of family courts. The recent Review of the Child Care Proceedings System in England and Wales (produced jointly with DfES) aims to achieve better lives for children and their families by improving the care proceedings system and eliminating unnecessary delay in care cases, while ensuring that the process remains a fair one. The DCA is also a key player on the Domestic Violence Inter-Ministerial Group. There are currently 25 Specialist Domestic Violence (DV) courts. A bidding process is currently under way to establish a second tranche of these courts by 1 April 2007.
Good, early advice services can prevent relatively simple civil legal issues developing into more complex and numerous problems. This is evidenced by the recent Legal Services Research Centre’s “Causes of Action” publication, which also highlights the tendency for inter-related problems to develop around a key theme (broadly around ‘family’, ‘homelessness’ and ‘economic’ clusters). The Legal Services Commission’s new Community Legal Service Strategy is informed by this research, and proposes that newly created Community Legal Advice Centres are located in areas of high deprivation in order to target the most vulnerable. My Department’s recent Getting earlier, better advice to vulnerable people document underlines the need for ensuring advice is people focussed, with problems not being considered in isolation. It also highlights the importance of getting advice right first time, and ensuring more effective referral networks are in place so that people get the service they need regardless of their point of access to the system.
As part of its role in delivering legal aid, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) considers the need for its services to help prevent social exclusion. The LSC can play its part by ensuring that services are better co-ordinated, focussed and effective, and that acts of advice/assistance increase. The new Community Legal Service (CLS) Strategy proposes that Community Legal Advice Centres (CLACs) are located in areas of high deprivation in order to target the most vulnerable. In less densely populated areas Community Legal Advice Networks (CLANs) will ensure that clients are able to access a range of high quality advice services regardless of their geographic location. Community Legal Service Direct also allows easy access for clients. The new CLS Strategy, in proposing that CLACs and CLANs will cover all five areas of social welfare law (Community Care, Housing, Debt, Employment and Welfare Benefits), will further promote social inclusion.