Early Legal Advice Pilot
Updates relating to the Early Legal Advice Pilot
Applies to England and Wales
What is the Early Legal Advice Pilot?
The Early Legal Advice Pilot (ELAP) is a £5 million HMT Shared Outcomes Fund (SOF) project to test the expansion of legal aid. It seeks to evaluate the possible benefits of holistic, legally aided advice in encouraging early resolution for individuals, and to quantify downstream benefits to central and local government.
As part of the pilot, participants will receive up to 3 hours of non-means and non-merits tested legal advice for housing, debt, and welfare benefit matters. The pilot will be delivered in Manchester and Middlesbrough and independently evaluated.
ELAP is a part of the Ministry of Justice’s (MOJ) wider ambition to test what works, and for whom, so we can ensure legal aid is available for those who need it. It was one of a range of commitments set out in the Legal Support Action Plan, which aims to identify the best ways to empower individuals to resolve their legal problem at earlier stages in their journey. This is a priority outcome for MOJ.
The pilot scheme was introduced by the Early Legal Advice Pilot Scheme Order 2022 (‘Order’), which modified Schedule 1 to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (‘LASPO’) to bring civil legal services for certain housing, debt, and welfare benefits issues ‘in scope’ of legal aid for the purposes of the pilot scheme. The Order also modifies secondary legislation to make work delivered as part of the pilot scheme non-means and non-merits tested and introduces a new fee to remunerate providers delivering work in the pilot scheme.
What it hopes to achieve
The first phase of the pilot, which commenced on 31st October 2022, is an initial testing phase. This is to gather key data about the pilot’s target population, their legal problems and the support they require, and capture the reflections and challenges of providers participating in the pilot. It will also seek to capture initial indications of how far outcomes might improve for individuals seen under the pilot – such as whether this results in financial security, reduced distress and improved legal capability. Information from the testing phase will be used to help shape the pilot design going forward. In response to emerging findings, aspects of the pilot approach were updated January 2023.
How it will work ‘on the ground’
ELAP will test the expansion of legal aid by funding in-person or remote advice services for certain housing, debt and welfare benefit matters, currently outside the scope for legal aid under LASPO.
The pilot enables participants to receive up to 3 hours of non-means and non-merits tested early legal advice for housing, debt, and welfare benefit matters. Participants will be eligible to receive these services irrespective of whether their matters fall into one of these categories, or all the categories. This is to see if it gives them better chance of resolving their legal problems and stop them from falling into further difficulties such as homelessness. The new service will be offered to residents in Manchester and Middlesbrough through councils and local support providers.
The evaluation will be undertaken by an independent evaluator appointed by MOJ. This is a consortium led by the National Centre for Social Research (‘NatCen’) that is comprised of experts from WPI Economics, The Centre for Homelessness Impact and the Legal Education Foundation.
The Early Legal Advice Pilot Scheme launched in Manchester and Middlesbrough on 31 October and runs until 31 March 2023, with a final evaluation report expected in Summer 2023.
Documents
Last updated 19 January 2023 + show all updates
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Lord Chancellor’s Guidance for the Early Legal Advice Pilot: participant selection process and provider guidance documents updated.
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First published.