Novotel, London Euston
Speech by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
Vera Baird QC MP
Thank you for inviting me here today to speak to you all. I am very, very pleased to be here. I am responsible for legal aid and social exclusion and would like to talk to you about three main issues. Firstly what we know about the role of advice, and the benefits it can bring. Secondly about social exclusion. And thirdly - something you have specifically requested my thoughts on - that is the input that Age Concern advisers can have on policy, and how you can best present us with your feedback.
Let me begin then by recapping on the founding principles of the legal aid system. Flowing from the Rushcliffe Report in 1945, enacted as long ago as 1949 in the Legal Aid and Advice Act, it was decided that a “judicare system” should be set up whereby lawyers would cater for the needs of the poor as well as the affluent. The poor would be able to receive legal advice so as to prosecute and defend a legal right and both counsel, like me, and solicitors would benefit from fair remuneration for their services.
These principles were right then and, I believe they are right now. Following a lot of development and consultation, the Community Legal Service was launched in April 2000. Its aim was to make the provision of legally aided and other advice services less fragmented, and to allow people to find the local advice that best suited their needs.
I share the commitment then given. It is vital that people can get good quality legal information and advice. I have no doubt at all that many of you in this room will know why. You will have seen the positive effects that the work you have carried out has had on your clients.
However, the case in favour of advice gets stronger when we combine the experience that providers, like you, tell me about, with the evidence base that we have now. We know from material produced by the Legal Services Research Centre that the provision of good early advice services prevents relatively simple civil issues spiralling and tumbling into multiple problems causing distress and chaos. For example, elderly people may have a problem with their welfare benefits, may not have enough heating and be unaware of the allowances available for heating which could lead to multiple difficulties. The mechanism for saving for Christmas presents has just gone bust. This won't be resolved by Christmas, debt could build up and people won't be able to provide for their families. They could end up getting evicted from their home and unable to get benefits because they no longer have a fixed address. It is easy for these problems to become more complex. Early legal advice is so important to prevent these things from happening.
This is the platform on which the new Community Legal Service Strategy is based. One of its main recommendations is the establishment of Community Legal Advice Centres and Networks.
The idea is that centres will provide a holistic, one-stop shop service, particularly in areas of high deprivation. We can deliver early advice to those who need it. For those who already have multiple or complex problems we can ensure that they get access to the integrated help that they need.
The piece of evidence used, Causes of Action, shows that if someone has a problem, but does not get help, they will tumble into problems. However, if they get some advice but it does not deal with the whole problem, the outcome is worse. We have to make sure that we don't provide legal aid by what the suppliers want to provide, advice has to be holistic. We are working together, NfPs and advice suppliers, on CLACs, so that people get all the advice they need. The DCA, through the LSC can only deliver legal aid. It is imperative that we work with partners across the sector. If a person can't pay their heating bill, they might not realise they have a legal problem. We need to ensure people get the right advice. Partnership working is very important.
Networks will improve co-ordination and quality of coverage in rural areas. We are continuing to develop innovative services to help us reach those in most need. The CLS Direct telephone service is an example of this. We are also well aware that outreach services, into supermarkets etc. are particularly vital for those groups (including the elderly) who may not be able to travel easily to their nearest face to face provider. Telephone advice can work better, as some people are reluctant to walk through the door of a lawyers office, as they are ashamed of their problem and find lawyers intimidating. The telephone is easier and less judgemental and the person is more in control and can hang up if they are not getting the advice they need.
So, I have set out some of the evidence for the importance of advice services, and the action that we are taking on this. But I am also driven by a passion to deal with a problem, which I know is incredibly important to those listening to me today: that is social exclusion.
In many ways, the fundamental aim of all the work I have set out thus far is the re-integration of the most vulnerable into society. I have spent most of this summer, believe it or not, touring the country speaking to lawyers and Not for Profit providers of legal services (amongst others) to gain feedback on proposals made by Lord Carter aimed at ensuring sustainability in legal aid provision. Perhaps my key message, especially to the solicitors I've seen, has been that we must control high cost criminal cases, so more money can used to lift people out of social exclusion.
The Cabinet Office, with Hilary Armstrong in the lead, is in charge of social exclusion and she published an Action Plan on social exclusion. I very strongly support the thrust of the document, but it would be disingenuous of me not to immediately address the fact that the Action Plan does not mention older people.
The Plan is designed to target those specific groups who have unique and complex needs and are particularly difficult to reach. The logic being that it makes more sense to target funds at preventing social exclusion, rather than at treating the effects of it once it has become entrenched.
The proposals in the plan are radical. Let us make no bones about it. I think that the action plan demonstrates just what a priority this government gives to social exclusion. But what the document is not is a reflection of current government policy. It is not there to tell us what we already know. It is based on forward thinking research and is focused on small, specific target groups - families identified extremely early, and those who are very young. It does not remove the focus to tackle social exclusion wherever it is.
We are focusing on these groups first because there is strong evidence that intervention early in life can have an impact on life chances later on, for example, early childhood development (e.g. such cognitive development) or lack of opportunities, in addition, to challenges around key transitions (e.g. such as entrance into mainstream school, leaving home), and poor mental health can have a lasting influence.
To address and prevent future exclusion in later life we need to examine the pathways to exclusion earlier than we have in the past. From both UK and International evidence-based research we know that intervening earlier than we have in the past is significant if we are to make gains in breaking the cycle of disadvantage between the generations
Does this mean we have forgotten the rest, except the four target groups? Absolutely not. I for one would not have wasted my summer if this were the case. There is important work going on right now. The Government's Opportunity Age Strategy (2005) and the Social Exclusion Unit report - 'A Sure Start to Later Life: Ending Equalities for Older People' (2006) are examples. We know there are massive issues that need to be addressed. Not least the fact that there are around 1.8 million pensioners in poverty, despite the efforts we have made. However, the very first paragraph of the Action Plan's executive summary mentions the fact that this government has lifted one million pensioners out of poverty in the last decade. Clearly there is still an enormous amount to do.
It may not have received much press coverage, but the key point is that the Action Plan is just the first piece of a 10 year strategy for tacking social exclusion - which is to be developed by the new Social Exclusion Task Force in September. Of course older people will form a significant part of this strategy, and I have no doubt that both the Taskforce as well as colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions and the Cabinet Office will be grateful for Age Concern's input into this process.
That brings me on to the last thing I want to talk about today, something that Age Concern's Director General asked for my thoughts on. That is the influence that you, as information and advice workers, can have on public policy.
As I mentioned earlier, the experience of advice workers in the field gives us a key barometer as to the success (or otherwise) of public policy. Data provided by the likes of the Community Legal Service Direct telephone line and information from people presenting to Citizens Advice Bureaux, for example, statistics put together by NACAB give us strong indicators of the types of problems which are prevalent.
So, how can you best get involved in feedback? There are a range of methods that you can consider. Local Strategic Partnership, where they are in Neighbourhood Renewal Areas have 4 new priorities and one of them is old people and health. Your local strategic partnership will have one and it has a duty to outreach to older people and health. The Cleveland pensions forum has strong representation in your area and is a channel to ensure that at local level, you get the feedback you want. The work on the third sector has moved much closer to the centre and is being taken forward by as sub-cabinet committee led by Ed Miliband.
Before I became a Minster, I set up an All Parliamentary Group for the CAB. These cross party groups are set up when MPs have an interest in an issue and campaign for that group. If there is not one for old people, I would encourage you to establish such a group. Feeding in your concerns to a central point allows advice organisations to speak with authority, based on evidence, to government. The policy papers I have seen from Age Concern do just that. Networking with other similar bodies in instances where your agenda is shared is another way of strengthening your case. You have a huge role to play in informing policy.
Your independence is very important and I view your role as a helping role. DCA has historically not played a big part in the social exclusion agenda. We have moved on from what was LCD and are now a mainline public service deliverer. We want to work in partnership with Age Concern in developing our role in social exclusion which is relatively new.
The government never underestimates the role you have to play. We might not always agree with your views, but we respect them absolutely. I want to praise the excellent work that Age Concern is carrying out on behalf of the elderly in this country. Your role in providing help and services to this group, and representing their interests to government, is only going to get more important with the projected rise in average age forecast. Thank you very much for your time this afternoon.