Site search
  • Labour Says Advice Matters

Labour Says Advice Matters

An event at the House of Commons on 16 March, organised by the Labour Front Bench highlighted the challenges faced by advice services. A panel of Labour MPs Sadiq Khan, Andy Slaughter, Nia Griffith, Yvonne Fovargue, Karen Buck and Jack Dromey, and Liberal Democrat Tom Brake made impassioned speeches about the importance of advice and heard about the problems being caused by cuts to local authority and Government funding and proposed legal aid reforms. Speakers included AdviceUK, Community Links, Mary Ward Legal Centre, Legal Aid Practitioners Group, Southampton Advice and Representation Centre, Free Representation Unit,South Hams CAB, Islington Law Centre, Law Centres Federation, AgeUK Brent, Justice for All and two advice service clients. Oxford City Councillors also spoke about their decision to protect and enhance funding for local advice services in recognition of their vital role. In a neat complement to AdviceUK's points about the role advice could and should play in public service improvement ('Smart Advice'), they noted that Council Heads of Service meet regularly with advice service managers to discuss and prevent systemic problems. AdviceUK also stressed the importance of recognising that, with due respect to our colleagues, Citizens Advice Bureaux are not the only show in town.

Watch video footage here, courtesy of our friends at i-legal.

Labour survey about advice funding

Two key Shadow Ministers are urgently seeking answers to a few quick questions in order to help protect the funding of the voluntary advice sector

Shadow Justice Minister, Andy Slaughter and Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Nia Griffith are trying to get information on the threats to voluntary advice sector funding.

They need as many independent advice centres/agencies, CABx and law centres as possible to answer 7 very simple questions. It should take you about 5 minutes to answer them and email them directly to the Parliamentary Office via the link provided The information is needed as soon as possible.

For more information and to answer the questions, click here.

Don't forget AdviceUK's funding cuts survey too: Click here to take part.