Annual Report 2016 - 2017
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Working to protect your legal rights Annual Report 2016 - 2017 Owned by the community • Accountable to the community • Serving the community Our Mission ur mission is to increase access to l Ensuring that the Law Centre is well governed by justice for disadvantaged the community and has appropriate and well Ocommunities through the provision trained staff to deliver its services. of quality assured, accessible free and low cost legal advice, information and representation to individuals and groups across Derbyshire. We do this through: “I would like to l Provision of free quality assured specialist legal advice and representation in social welfare law; thank all staff, my l Undertaking project work; life is back on track” l Provision of an accessible initial diagnostic and “Big thanks to all. signposting service to all callers, both by Would recommend telephone and in person; to anybody.” l Increasing and diversifying funding coming into the Law Centre to secure its longevity; l Raising awareness of the Law Centre’s work and providing information to groups and individuals on the law and its effects. Registration details: The Law Centre is a company limited by guarantee: 2453081 Registered Charity No: 702419 Solicitors Regulation Authority: Practice No 71302 Auditors: Barber Harrison & Platt, 57-59 Saltergate, Chesterfield, S40 1UL Bankers: Lloyds TSB, 30 Rose Hill, Chesterfield, S40 1LR Derbyshire Law Centre, 1 Rose Hill East, Chesterfield, S40 1XZ. Tel: 01246 550674 Fax: 01246 551069 Text: 07781 482826 Email: [email protected] www.derbyshirelawcentre.org.uk Offices throughout Derbyshire: Bolsover, Buxton, Chesterfield, Eckington, Ilkeston, Matlock and Ripley. 2 Derbyshire Law Centre • Annual Report 2016-17 Contents Big Changes - Chair’s Report 4 Specialist legal projects 17-20 - Legal Education Why Derbyshire needs its Law Centre? 5 Living Rights for EU Citizens 17 Specialist Legal Advice service 6-16 Derbyshire Pro-Bono Service 17 Community Care Intensive one to one support services 18-20 - We listen and get the right support 6 We help people to integrate 18 Housing and Homelessness within the community - We prevent homelessness 7 We help people to develop Money 19 - We represent tenants who cannot 8 Management skills afford a solicitor at Chesterfield County Court We help people to become Work Ready 20 - We achieve results for our clients 9 through partnership working About Derbyshire Law Centre 21-27 Debt Volunteers Assessment Team 21 - We prevent mortgage repossession 10 The staff team that helps the residents 22 - We support clients to manage 11 in Derbyshire their debt Who do we help? 23-24 Employment Financial Review 25 - We protect people’s rights in work 12 List of Directors 26 - We empower litigants - Litigants in Person Service 13 Individual and Organisational 27 members Discrimination - Consumer - We help people to overcome 14 barriers - We help people who want to 15 access services Immigration and Asylum - We help people to enter and 16 stay in the UK “Thank you for everything, I might not be here now otherwise.” Derbyshire Law Centre • Annual Report 2016-17 3 Big Changes! - Chair’s Report hat a year it has been! I am Wvery proud to present this annual "I would like report to you, which I to say thank hope will give plenty of you to all at examples of how we Derbyshire work hard to protect Derbyshire residents’ Law Centre." legal rights. Councillor Michael Gordon, Chair, Derbyshire Law Centre’s I would like to thank our Management Committee. volunteers including the Management Committee, for giving their time and their wisdom in supporting the Law Centre. I would also like to thank our staff who have worked hard all Thank you to all the organisations that have given year round, in the provision of specialist legal the Law Centre, an independent agency, financial services, securing funding and setting up new assistance during the period 1.4.2016 – 31.3.2017: services. Chesterfield Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council, North East Derbyshire District Council, We have seen an expansion in the staff team and we Bolsover District Council, Amber Valley Borough are now delivering 16 projects and services across Council, Legal Aid Agency, A B Charitable Trust, Big Derbyshire, from our main and six outreach branch Lottery Fund, National Lottery through the Heritage offices. With funding from local Councils, the Legal Lottery Fund, East Midlands Money Advice Aid Agency and others, for which we are grateful, Partnership via Money Advice Service, Law Centres we have been able to help more people ensuring Network, Access to Justice Foundation, Big Lottery they are supported in the prevention of Fund and the European Social Fund. homelessness, having food on the table, bills being paid, getting and staying in employment. Finally, I would like to pay a personal tribute to Cameron Philpot, who sadly passed away earlier this year. We are immensely grateful for his commitment to the Law Centre since 1994 and he will be sadly missed. I hope you enjoy reading about our achievements this year and commend this report to you. Councillor Michael Gordon, Chair of Derbyshire Law Centre’s Management Committee 4 Derbyshire Law Centre • Annual Report 2016-17 Why Derbyshire needs its Law Centre here are many threat of reasons. We think homelessness or we are fairly unmet care needs. T Call the adviser a unique. We enable ‘navigator’ or residents of Derbyshire ‘buddy’, the "I have to access free specialist approach on a home legal advice. these projects is the same - holistic We employ solicitors, legal – looking at the now." executives, and experienced person and not caseworkers who are Tony McIlveen just the single specialists in their fields. We issue, to try and can’t cover all areas of law, but we offer free advice help them turn in areas of law that affect ordinary people in their their lives around and manage their lives and everyday lives, and is not available elsewhere. A finances better. Some services have been re- legal remedy is only a true remedy if people can invigorated, such as our immigration service, where actually access it. We can give detailed advice, take a we have supported families with precarious case on, negotiate on behalf of people, draft and file immigration status, worried EU nationals and, I claims and defences. Most importantly, we can should add, worried British spouses of EU nationals. continue with their case and represent them in court or tribunal. This past year we have worked on many joint initiatives such as working closely with local Councils We have legal aid contracts to secure public funding to prevent homelessness and looking at how we can for some cases, have financial support from our local best support people in Chesterfield Borough and Councils to fight cases at no cost to the client and North East Derbyshire as they migrate onto Universal secure project funding to use innovative ways to Credit. This is already rolled out in Erewash and improve lives and improve access to justice for those soon to cover the rest of Derbyshire. most in need. We are working in partnership with 50+ voluntary We have always prided ourselves on being free, but sector agencies across Derbyshire and Derby city financial constraints and the reduction in the areas facilitated by the Opportunity and Change and covered by legal aid have meant we have started to Money Sorted in D2N2 projects. These projects are charge for some of our work that cannot be covered funded by the Big Lottery Fund and the European by other funding. Where we do charge, we try to Social Fund. Our vital work is helping people and keep our charges as low as possible as a not for their families through difficult times, thus making a profit agency. huge difference in their lives. We have also taken on our own in-house social worker and advocate who This last year we have run 16 projects and core supports Opportunity and Change's participants to services and taken on additional staff to resource gain access to social care and mental health services them. Some services are new and provide different if they need them. solutions for people in need. For example, we have three new projects Our services improve clients’ health and well-being, providing one to keep a roof over their heads, reduce their debts and one ongoing help people feed families and pay the bills. These are support for people the reasons why we need a Law Centre in who may have FACT: Derbyshire. We are similar to a solicitor’s firm, but disabilities, Only solicitors here solely for the benefit of our community. We language think this is what makes us unique and an essential difficulties or in or authorised service for Derbyshire residents. We hope you can complete crisis litigators can support us in many ways – as volunteers, members, where they have take court advocates, representatives and partners and we, in become preceedings. turn, will continue to do our best to support the overwhelmed with people of Derbyshire. the issues they face, be it debt, Tony McIlveen, Senior Solicitor Derbyshire Law Centre • Annual Report 2016-17 5 Specialist Legal Advice Service - Community Care We listen and get the right support he Community Care team has been advising disabled and older people and How the Law Centre helped me Ttheir carers on getting the support they - Mrs Atkin need. As well as preventing withdrawal of “I have always enjoyed visiting my local day centre care packages, we have been able to prevent three days a week, as it gave me an opportunity to get reductions or unfair changes in support. out of my house and socialise with other people.