§ Mr. Hicksasked the Attorney-General if he will monitor the establishment and activities of community legal centres that are operated on a voluntary basis; and if he will make a statement.
The Solicitor-GeneralNeither the Lord Chancellor nor I am responsible for voluntary advice services. A number of community law centres receive financial support from central funds, mainly through the Department of the Environment and local authorities, and all must observe the Lord Chancellor's guidelines, dated November 1978, which set out a basic framework within which law centres should operate. While funding agents have the responsibility for ensuring that the guidelines are observed, if my hon. Friend has any specific cases in mind I would be grateful if he would write to the Lord Chancellor.