Nottingham Law Centre was established in 1983 to help their community defend the legal rights of local people. Like all law centres, Nottingham Law Centre is independent and operates on a not-for-profit basis.
The centre now employs 20 staff including two solicitors and two trainees, delivering legal advice on housing, debt, benefits, and immigration, not forgetting running the housing possession duty scheme at Nottingham County Court.
Their work was given the accolade of Contribution to the Community ion 2019 at the Nottinghamshire Law Society Annual Awards.
The team, led by Sally Denton, are now facing new challenges as they face threats to their service.
Due to the recent announcements from Nottingham City Council, funding for the Nottingham Law Centre has fallen victim to the drastic financial cuts made by the Council, which leaves a huge void in the centre’s operations.
So, to bring awareness to our fellow legal professionals and firms of Nottinghamshire, this article is written to help you understand the important work that the Nottingham Law Centre gives to the people of Nottingham.
Did you know….
- In the last 12 months, Nottingham Law Centre opened 2363 cases;
- Nottingham Law Centre helped secure £2,103,372.00 additional benefit entitlement;
- They helped clients manage £1,683.804.00 debt;
- They prevented approximately 800 households being evicted.
The centre is facing a significant reduction in income due to the cuts made by Nottingham City Council, at a time when the council are also cutting their own welfare rights service and other voluntary sector organisations and when demand is at an all-time high.
The current cost of living crisis, housing shortages and increased numbers of possession claims are driving up demand for the need of the services Nottingham Law Centre provides and this combined with the cut in funding will leave clients unable to access the legal support they need.
Here is a breakdown of how donations to Nottingham Law Centre can help us provide legal support…
- £15 pays for a 1 hour of reception time – the reception staff act as triage to all the enquiries and dealing with emergency requests.
- £500 per month, pays the centre’s monthly telephone bill.
- £1000 would pay for the centre to assist 6 clients in their cases, for example: challenging a benefit refusal or, applying for debt relief orders or, applying to suspend an eviction warrant.
- £2000 would pay the centre’s monthly rent!
To put the work of Nottingham Law Centre in perspective, here is a case study:
Mrs Q an EU citizen sought advice from the centre. She was living with her son aged 14 in the storeroom at the back of a chip shop.
Mrs Q was allowed to stay by the chip shop owner on the basis that she cleaned the shop etc. She spoke little English and had no income.
She approached the law centre when told that the chip shop was being sold and she would be homeless. Nottingham Law Centre helped Mrs Q to apply for settled status and, which in turn allowed her claim to benefits.
Nottingham Law Centre challenged the council who were refusing to offer housing. Mrs Q has now been housed and her son is now settled in school and doing well with his education. Mrs Q has also found employment.
Finally, it is always good to hear a few testimonials, on how appreciative those who work alongside the Nottingham Law Centre value their contributions of legal service to those that need it the most and from the recipients themselves.
When asking Sally Denton for testimonials, two came to mind, both telling it as it is in their own words…
Client: “you have proper dug me out of the s***”
District Judge Potts on his retirement:
“I really valued the work of the Law Centre in possession lists. Quite simply without your sterling efforts the possession lists would have not worked. You probably don’t appreciate just how reassuring it has been as a Judge when the usher come in and says, “They’re seeing Duty”. You know that either something will be sorted to keep the tenant in place, or the matter is being defended on proper grounds.”
If you as a legal professional or as a firm/chamber feel that they can help Nottingham Law Centre in their current situation, help them see beyond the huge £70k financial void they now have, they would appreciate your support.
Please contact, nottinghamshirelawsociety@nottslawsoc.org if you can offer any assistance to keep Nottingham Law Centre the proactive legal service of the City helping those that cannot afford legal services and representation.