§ Mr. ConnartyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what action has been taken to improve legal access and representation to homeless people. [96738]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThrough the ongoing development of the Community Legal Service (CLS), the Legal Services Commission (LSC) is working to improve access to justice in England and Wales for all. In addition to the £734 million spent in total last year on 17W civil legal aid, the LSC has introduced a variety of initiatives to improve access to legal advice and meet the representation needs of the socially excluded including a number aimed specifically at those with housing problems, and the homeless. These include a pilot project funding duty schemes in the county courts to cover housing possession cases; and spending £2 million per year on a telephone advice pilot under which several housing advice services are providing legal help. We are also working to integrate the CLS into a number of cross Government initiatives on tackling social exclusion and working closely with other Departments to increase the number of quality marked outlets for CLS information. At a regional level, CLS Partnerships have also helped to improve access to legal help through grants from the Partnership Innovation Budget and joint work with Local Strategic Partnerships.