The Legal Services Commission does not record whether individuals accessing the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme have received prior legal advice. However, it would not expect the majority of individuals to have done so given the emergency nature of the advice.
Between 2001 and 2005 the Legal Services Commission funded 13 pilot duty schemes as part of their research into alternative methods of delivery of legal services. These pilots assisted approximately 5,000 people per year. A monthly breakdown for this period could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Since April 2005, over 87,000 acts of assistance have been given by LSC funded Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes. The following table provides a monthly breakdown.
Month Acts of assistance Annual total April 2005 563 — May 2005 553 — June2005 622 — July 2005 544 — August 2005 709 — September 2005 845 — October 2005 995 — November 2005 1,240 — December 2005 1,021 — January 2006 1,601 — February 2006 1,736 — March 2006 1,602 12,030 April 2006 2,031 — May 2006 2,458 — June 2006 2,349 — July 2006 2,319 — August 2006 2,319 — September 2006 2,477 — October 2006 2,694 — November 2006 2,805 — December 2006 1,975 — January 2007 2,413 — February 2007 2,072 — March 2007 1,650 27,560 April 2007 2,315 — May 2007 2,354 — June 2007 2,306 — July 2007 2,596 — August 2007 2,536 — September 2007 2,728 — October 2007 2,571 — November 2007 2,698 — December 2007 2,121 — January 2008 2,946 — February 2008 2,788 — March 2008 2,513 30,470 April 2008 3,103 — May 2008 2,625 — June 2008 2,797 — July 2008 3,106 — August 2008 2,644 — September 2008 3,007 17,280