Programme11.15am Welcome from Jean Couper,

Chairman, Scottish Legal Aid Board

11.25am Address by Iain Gray MSP, Deputy Minister for Justice

11.35-12.15 Presentations from the four pilot projects

12.15 Close and lunch

WelcomeWelcome

Jean CouperJean Couper

Chairman

Scottish Legal Aid Board

The pilot projects:•Castlemilk Law and Money

Advice Centre and the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre

•Citizens Advice Scotland

•Streetwork

•West Lothian Advice Partnership

Address by:

Iain Gray MSPIain Gray MSPDeputy Minister for Justice

Castlemilk Law and Money Advice Centre

and the Ethnic Minorities Law

Centre

Presenter:

Rosie Sorrell

Ethnic Minorities Law Centre

About the Law Centres• Castlemilk Law Centre - very first Law Centre

to open in Scotland in 1970s

• Ethnic Minorities Law Centre – opened over ten years ago and works with ethnic minority groups across Glasgow

• both have built up substantial expertise in the field of asylum and immigration law

The problems for asylum seekers

• being able to access the legal services that they require

• significant language barriers

• often they receive no information about where they can go

• problems finding how to get there in a strange city

• there may not be an interpreter available for several days

The need for the project

• from April 2000 policy of dispersal of asylum seekers throughout the UK

• Glasgow has become one of the major centres for dispersal

• 40004000 asylum seekers in Glasgow now in Sighthill, Springburn, Castlemilk and other nearby areas in the Southside

The need for the project• support services set up and now better co-

ordination, particularly in the Sighthill area

• but lack of legal advice – small number of solicitors provide advice

– poor referral network or co-ordination on a Glasgow wide basis

• Castlemilk in a slightly better position than the Sighthill area – outreach in a local hall successful even though

only publicised by word of mouth

What the Part V project will do

• two solicitors serving the Southside and Sighthill areas of Glasgow through outreach clinics

• providing casework in the different areas

• working together on community education element

• project steering group aims to include key organisations and individuals

Project benefits• excellent opportunities for partnership

working

• promote awareness of project services

• the project could be replicated in new dispersal areas

• provide a model of best practice for working with asylum seekers using a co-ordinated multi agency approach

• significant impact on individual clients  

Citizens Advice Scotland

Presenter

Carol Greer, Advisory Officer

What does the CAB do?

• provides free, confidential, independent and impartial advice and information

• also provides specialist services

What does the CAB do?• six CABx will be involved in this project using 13

offices as well as a number of other outreach clinic services– Caithness

– Ross and Cromarty

– Nairn

– Moray

– Skye

– Western Isles – Barra, Harris, Lewis, Uist

• over 25,30025,300 enquiries last year amongst these six bureaux

The need for the project• enquiries increasingly complex

– particularly legal issues, welfare benefits and employment law.

• dearth of legal specialists in rural areas

• creates a number of problems for the CAB Service and for its clients:– increase skills and knowledge

– referrals

– high standards maintained and enhanced

What will the project do?

• Solicitor will work out of Citizens Advice Scotland’s Inverness office

• Delivery of a second tier advisory service

– - new methods of delivery e.g. email

• training volunteers and paid staff

What will the project do?

• taking on a limited number of client cases that are significant to local community

• contributing to social policy work

Anticipated benefits

• Clients:– greater access to legal services

expertise

– improved CAB Service

– improved referral system

• CAB:– more highly trained volunteers

– expanded range of services

Anticipated benefits

• Part V project:– experimentation of innovative

delivery methods

– investigation of most efficient and effective delivery in rural areas

– creation of a replicable model

– provision of models for effective partnership working

StreetworkStreetworkPresenter

Katie OwenKatie Owen

Homeless Services Manager

About Streetwork• set up in 1991

• works in Edinburgh with rough sleepers and young people at risk, both in city centre and outlying housing schemes

• client group are some of the most excluded individuals in our community - they can be difficult to engage, distrusting of authority and have been let down by agencies intended to support them

What we do• Advice, information and preventative

education to individuals and groups

• Intensive advocacy support to help them access services

• Uses a people centred approach to deliver this support through one to one and group sessions the street and office base

• Staff are on the streets seven nights and four days a week and are available at the office five days a week

Our clients• Our clients aren’t victims

• Last year we worked with around 1500 vulnerable individuals

• over 4500 4500 interventions - 8% legal

• Client issues include:

– mental health

– physical health

– self harm

– drugs and alcohol users

– offending

Our clients• rough sleepers - 80% male, 20 % female

– average age of 33 - 32% were under 25

– 40% originated from outwith Edinburgh

– 15% were care leavers - higher % under 25

– 44% had mental health problems and 35% physical health problems

– 28% had recent family or relationship problems

• 12001200 people under 25 are homeless in Edinburgh

Streetwork

Our Part V solicitor will• enhance our existing support to people we work

with

• drop in legal advice to clients on issues like

– housing

– Children (Scotland) Act and through care rights for those leaving care

– civil rights in terms of exclusions from services

– family issues – mediation role, rights as parent when children may be in care

– other issues like Benefits, Human rights, mental health issues

Our project will

• work with clients where they are comfortable- in our current venues and on the streets

• work with staff - improve advice, knowledge and back up as well as review cases

• work with partners to improve services, policies and highlight good practise

West Lothian Advice Partnership

PresentersAlan Cunningham, Welfare Strategy

Manager, West Lothian Council

Jane Marnie,

Manager,Livingston CAB

Workers Benefits Advice Project

Breich Valley Information Service

Who we are• unique partnership between all the major

advice providers in West Lothian

– West Lothian Council Advice Shop, Bathgate

– Livingston CAB

– Breich Valley Information Service, Fauldhouse

– Workers Benefits Advice Project, Bathgate

The need for the project

• four partners dealt with almost 58,00058,000 enquiries last year - mainly social security, benefits, employment rights, money advice

• majority of clients sick, elderly, unemployed, poor - least likely to exercise their civil rights

• unmet legal need - local solicitor fortnightly 2 hour session - 100+ enquiries last year

What the project will do

• Aims to give information and advice in areas of civil law to 1500 of the most socially excluded people in West Lothian

• break down barriers to legal advice

– make available to those people who do not use a solicitor through better access and local delivery

• oral advice and limited casework

What the project will do

• project will bridge gap between welfare advice and other forms legal advice

• partnership with local legal profession - develop links, facilitate referrals

• partners offer high quality advice services - service will plug a gap

• training and support to partner’s staff