Legal Aid Agency publishes new version of CW1 form

CW1: financial eligibility for legal aid clients Page summary: Controlled work form: client seeking legal help, help at court or family help (lower). Change made: Published new version of the CW1. Changes have been made to accommodate existing non means tested areas of work and the new Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS) which commences […]
Commissioner calls for ‘radical rehaul’ of the SEND system

New statistics published by the Department for Education (DfE) have revealed that 1,183,384 pupils in England in 2023 receive support for their special educational needs (SEN) without an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This is up by 4.7% from 2022. The overall number of pupils in England with special educational needs has also risen to […]
The Ombudsman’s Corner: July 2023

An issue that all ombudsman schemes face is that it is difficult to forecast the level of demand on its service. During the pandemic most schemes saw an increase in demand for two reasons – people having time to reflect on the service they received from providers and then time to raise complaints about it, […]
‘No simple explanation’ why BAME solicitors are overrepresented in complaints SRA receieve

An independent review of existing literature looking into the overrepresentation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic solicitors in complaints about solicitors made to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been published. This review is the first part of an ongoing research project to try and understand why those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds […]