Free legal advice service cut after funding ended

An organisation that aims to offer access to legal help for "disadvantaged" people across Derbyshire has had to cut its services.

Derbyshire Law Centre, based in Chesterfield, said at the end of March it reduced its employment legal advice service after Derbyshire County Council withdrew £90,100 of funding.

The loss of "a significant proportion" of the centre's income has seen the employment law service reduced from three solicitors to one.

A council spokesperson said its own financial pressures had led to the decision, which had been taken following a review and public consultation into its voluntary and community sector grants.

It added the grants to the law centre were not legally obligated, and all grants were given to organisations with no expectation they may continue after the agreed funding periods.

A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: "We must ensure we're supporting people fairly across the whole of Derbyshire and we have to ensure that our finite resources are targeted at services we are required to deliver by law to those people who need us most."

Derbyshire Law Centre, which was founded in 1989, said in the last year it supported 1,066 employment enquiries, which led to £354,901 in out-of-court settlements and tribunal judgements for clients.

Now the centre has reduced its employment law workload by 50% and will now only provide initial telephone advice and casework "in exceptional circumstances".

In a statement, the centre said its work was "essential" to keeping people in work, out of debt, and contributing to "resilient communities".

A spokesperson added: "Derbyshire Law Centre is one of the only places in the East Midlands where residents can receive free, independent legal advice on complex cases that involve legal action.

"Now the employment work we are doing is being funded by charged-for services or by some discretionary core funding."

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