The Legal Services Commission (LSC) funds free legal representation at repossession hearings via the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme. The scheme is available at 112 courts. There follows a full list of the courts where the scheme is available.
The LSC does not record the number of advisers per court and there is no specific number of advisers required. The LSC does require that legal aid providers ensure there is at least one adviser in court when the possession lists are heard and that all sessions are covered.
Aldershot and Farnborough
Alnwick
Ashford
Barnsley
Barnet
Basildon
Birkenhead
Birmingham
Bishop Auckland
Blackpool
Bow
Bradford
Bridlington
Brighton
Bromley
Burton on Trent
Bury St Edmunds
Cambridge
Central London
Cheltenham
Chesterfield
Colchester
Consett
Coventry
Croydon
Darlington
Dartford
Derby
Dewsbury
Doncaster
Dover
Dudley
Durham
Eastbourne
Edmonton
Folkestone
Gateshead
Gee Street Court (Clerkenwell)
Gee Street Court (Shoreditch)
Gloucester
Gravesham
Great Yarmouth
Grimsby
Halifax
Harlow
Hartlepool
Hertford
Huddersfield
Hull
Huntingdon
Ilford
Keighley
Kettering
Kidderminster
Kings Lynn
Kingston
Lambeth
Lancaster
Leeds
Liverpool
Lowestoft
Luton
Mansfield
Morpeth and Berwick
Newcastle
North Shields
Northampton
Norwich
Nottingham
Nuneaton
Oxford
Peterborough
Pontefract
Portsmouth
Preston
Redditch
Rotherham
Rugby
Runcorn
Scarborough
Scunthorpe
Sheffield
Skipton
Slough
South Shields
Southend
Southport
St Albans
St Helens
Stafford
Stoke on Trent
Stourbridge
Sunderland
Swansea
Tameside
Tamworth
Teesside
Tunbridge Wells
Wakefield
Wandsworth
Warrington
Watford
Wellingborough
West London
Weston Super Mare
Whitby
Whitehaven
Winchester
Wolverhampton
Woolwich
Worcester
Worthing
York.
In addition to the LSC funded schemes, the Department for Communities and Local Government funds 41 court desk schemes in England:
DCLG funded schemes:
Accrington
Banbury
Barnstaple
Barrow-in-Furness
Bedford
Bodmin
Bristol
Burnley
Buxton
Cirencester Magistrates
Evesham
Grantham
Harrogate
Haywards Heath
Hereford
Kendal
Lewes
Lincoln
Ludlow
Maidstone
Melton Mowbray
Nelson
Newark
Newport (I.O.W.)
Northwich
Oswestry
Penrith
Penzance
Rawtenstall
Salisbury
Shrewsbury
Skegness
Stratford
Swindon
Telford
Trowbridge
Truro
Walsall
Warwick
Worksop
Yeovil.
Free legal representation at repossession hearings in Wales is available through Swansea county court, and details of the number of people who have received assistance in each month since it was first piloted in January 2002 are shown as follows.
Between January 2004 and March 2005 there are no these data available. At that time the reporting of these data relied on providers submitting paper forms to the Legal Services Commission and in some cases no forms were ever sent. Since April 2007 these data have been submitted electronically and consequently the figures are more reliable.
Number 2002 January 8 February 10 March 7 April 12 May 18 June 10 July 12 August 6 September 9 October 12 November 4 December 12 2003 January 9 February 6 March 5 April 17 May 5 June 9 July 11 August 12 September 10 October 7 November 1 December 4 2004 January — February — March — April — May — June — July — August — September — October — November — December — 2005 January — February — March — April 4 May 1 June 6 July 6 August 11 September 6 October 0 November 0 December 21 2006 January 14 February 4 March 0 April 5 May 12 June 5 July 23 August 7 September 13 October 14 November 5 December 4 2007 January 16 February 9 March 9 April 14 May 9 June 8 July 14 August 9 September 9 October 14 November 8 December 8 2008 January 14 February 12 March 15 April 17 May 6 June 9 July 16 August 13 September 17 October 18 November 11 December 4 2009 January 11 February 6
(2) how much the Legal Services Commission spent on acts of assistance relating to housing in each of the last five years; and how much has been spent in 2008-09 to date on applications for acts of assistance;
(3) how many new housing matters have been started by the Legal Services Commission in 2008-09;
(4) what proportion of all applications for (a) civil representations and (b) legal help in 2008-09 to date have been related to housing.
The information requested is currently being collated. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as the information becomes available.