§ 32. Fiona Mactaggart (Slough)If he will publish a referrals handbook for the community legal service which includes details of all national advisory services. [109648]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Jane Kennedy)The community legal service partnerships will create local referral networks which will be supported by regional directories. The directories, to be published at the start of April 2000, will list details of local information and advice providers, and will also include details of relevant national organisations and telephone helplines.
§ Fiona MactaggartI am very aware of that because we have an excellent community legal service partnership growing in Slough. Our concern is that to get effective referrals, we need a national database of advice centres. We do not want to have to invent our own. We were hoping that the Lord Chancellor's Department would provide a national one that we and those in other areas could plug into so that we can get a better community legal service.
§ Jane KennedyI, too, have that ambition for the community legal service. The directory will be available on the service's website, which is being designed and built so that it is accessible to the majority of the community. The website directory will be updated daily.