Legal Services Commission
- Legal Services Commission
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is an executive non-departmental public body that is responsible for the operational administration of legal aid in England and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Justice and its work is overseen by an independent board of commissioners.
Overview
A non departmental public body responsible for a spend of around £2billion annually, and helping over 2 million people with their legal problems across England and Wales each year, the LSC was established under the Access to Justice Act 1999 and replaced the Legal Aid Board in 2000. Sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, the LSC helps to protect the fundamental rights of the individual and addresses problems that contribute to social exclusion.
The LSC is responsible for the development and administration of two schemes:
*The Community Legal Service (CLS)
*The Criminal Defence Service (CDS)
The CLS aims to improve access to quality information and help for civil legal problems, such as family, debt and housing. Free legal advice is available to people who cannot afford to pay for legal help. This is supplied through solicitors’ and advice agencies that are quality assured through the LSC’s Quality Mark scheme.
The CDS provides free legal advice and representation for people facing criminal charges who are unable to pay for legal help. This is supplied through criminal solicitors’ offices and the Public Defender Service.
The LSC provides direct services to the public via its Community Legal Advice website [visit http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk] and helpline. People can visit the site or call the helpline for free legal advice.
The Chair of the Legal Services Commission is Sir Michael Bichard. The Chief Executive, who heads up the LSC's Executive Team and around 1,500 staff based in offices across England and Wales, is Carolyn Regan. [http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/docs/about_us_main/ET-biographies_May08.pdf]
References
External links
* [http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/ Official website]
* [http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/ Community Legal Advice]
* [http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/home.law Law Society of England & Wales]
* [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1999/ukpga_19990022_en_1 Access to Justice Act 1999]
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