Funders
Legal Services Commission
The Legal Services Commission is the body set up by the government to administer the legal aid scheme.
The majority of Law For All’s casework and advice is funded by the Legal Services Commission. We are paid through the Legal Help and Help at Court Scheme for initial advice and assistance and for tribunal preparation. Certificates of public funding are obtained to pay for court work.
The funding from the Legal Services Commission is means-tested and not all clients will be eligible for help under this scheme. Some clients may have to pay a contribution towards their legal costs or may have to repay their costs from the winnings in their case.
Information about the Legal Services Commission can be obtained at
http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/
,
and an eligibility calculator which will help you decide if you qualify
for legal aid can be found at
http://www.clsdirect.org.uk/legalhelp/calculator.jsp?lang=en
Capitalise
Capitalise is a London-wide partnership of advice organisations that aims to reduce debt and financial exclusion by improving people’s capacity to manage their debts, help people to take control of their finances and make informed choices in the future. It runs a programme funded by the DTI's portion of the Government’s Financial Inclusion Fund to employ 59 advisers providing debt and money advice to financially excluded members of the public experiencing debt and other financial problems.
Six of these advisers are employed at Law For All. These solicitors and trainees work alongside other legal staff but specialise in debt and social security work.
The Capitalise programme is not means-tested.
More information about Capitalise can be found at
http://www.capitalise.org.uk/default.asp.
London Borough of Ealing
The London Borough of Ealing Community Grants Unit provides a grant to Law For All which pays for part of our Access service, which ensures that enquiries from potential clients are dealt with at the most appropriate level. The borough’s grant also part funds additional services for hard-to-reach groups at community organisations such as Age Concern, Ealing Centre for Independent Living and MIND.
The London Borough of Ealing can be contacted through their website
at
http://www.ealing.gov.uk/
Permira & Breakthrough
Permira is a leading European-based private equity firm which supports the Breakthrough initiative of the Community Action Network (CAN). Under this programme, funds have been given to Law For All to establish a service in Cambridgeshire co-operatively with the Citizens Advice Bureaux in 2007-8.
Breakthrough has also funded a Total Quality Programme and a staff increase programme at Law For All.
More information on Permira is available at
http://www.permira.com/en/index.html
,
and about CAN at
http://www.can-online.org.uk/index.asp.
Donors
We are fortunate to receive charitable donations from individuals and groups, and from trust funds. Although these form a small proportion of our turnover they are very useful as they can be used for expenses that could otherwise not be justified, such as staff training, office improvements and additional research materials. We are very grateful for the support of our donors, many of whom have been long-term friends of the organisation.
If you would like to make a donation, you can do so online with
in-built Gift Aid at
http://www.justgiving.com/lawforall/supportus.