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| Payday loan companies 'should face levy to fund debt advice services' | Payday loan companies 'should face levy to fund debt advice services' |
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| A levy should be imposed on payday loan companies to help fund debt advisory services, according to an independent inquiry into cuts in legal aid for social welfare cases. | A levy should be imposed on payday loan companies to help fund debt advisory services, according to an independent inquiry into cuts in legal aid for social welfare cases. |
| The Low commission, which has been considering evidence from law centres, MPs, lawyers and others for the past year, calls for the creation of a £100m-a-year fund to pay for local advice services across England and Wales. | |
| Most of the funding should come from the government and the Big Lottery Fund, the commission report argues, but some should also come from payday loan companies. It states: "The Financial Conduct Authority should use its powers under the legislation to impose a levy on payday loan companies to fund debt advice services when they take over the regulation of payday loan companies from the Office of Fair Trading in April 2014." | Most of the funding should come from the government and the Big Lottery Fund, the commission report argues, but some should also come from payday loan companies. It states: "The Financial Conduct Authority should use its powers under the legislation to impose a levy on payday loan companies to fund debt advice services when they take over the regulation of payday loan companies from the Office of Fair Trading in April 2014." |
| The commission was headed by Lord Low, an expert in disability law who is vice-president of the Royal National Institute of Blind People. It calls for the restoration of legal aid for housing cases. | The commission was headed by Lord Low, an expert in disability law who is vice-president of the Royal National Institute of Blind People. It calls for the restoration of legal aid for housing cases. |
| The commission heard evidence from one MP who said that since the last round of cuts in legal aid, MPs' surgeries had become the first port of call for desperate constituents seeking legal advice. It was also told that judges were asking for fewer cases to be listed in court each day, to allow extra time to deal with the growing number of people having to represent themselves in complex welfare cases. | The commission heard evidence from one MP who said that since the last round of cuts in legal aid, MPs' surgeries had become the first port of call for desperate constituents seeking legal advice. It was also told that judges were asking for fewer cases to be listed in court each day, to allow extra time to deal with the growing number of people having to represent themselves in complex welfare cases. |
| Low, who chaired the commission, said: "Our report makes sobering reading and we are calling on political parties of all stripes to recognise the need to act before we reach crisis point. All around the country we found advice agencies buckling under the strain, and ordinary people left with nowhere to turn." | Low, who chaired the commission, said: "Our report makes sobering reading and we are calling on political parties of all stripes to recognise the need to act before we reach crisis point. All around the country we found advice agencies buckling under the strain, and ordinary people left with nowhere to turn." |
| Amanda Finlay, commission vice-chair and former legal services strategy director at the Ministry of Justice, said: "In these days of austerity, we realise hard choices have to be made. But just cutting legal aid is not the answer. The problems still remain. We should follow the example of other countries which have reduced legal aid but recognised that help is still required, and invest in better information, advice and support." | Amanda Finlay, commission vice-chair and former legal services strategy director at the Ministry of Justice, said: "In these days of austerity, we realise hard choices have to be made. But just cutting legal aid is not the answer. The problems still remain. We should follow the example of other countries which have reduced legal aid but recognised that help is still required, and invest in better information, advice and support." |
| The report's foreword has been written by Lord Justice Woolf, a former lord chief justice. "One of the most difficult and persistent problems facing any society," Woolf said, is how it meets "the responsibility to ensure that its members who are least able to protect themselves are provided with the assistance that they require to cope with the challenges with which they are inevitably faced. | The report's foreword has been written by Lord Justice Woolf, a former lord chief justice. "One of the most difficult and persistent problems facing any society," Woolf said, is how it meets "the responsibility to ensure that its members who are least able to protect themselves are provided with the assistance that they require to cope with the challenges with which they are inevitably faced. |
| "This is particularly difficult to achieve when a nation, like our own, is seeking at the same time to deal with acute financial difficulties requiring the imposition of stringent controls, including cuts, on public spending across the board." | "This is particularly difficult to achieve when a nation, like our own, is seeking at the same time to deal with acute financial difficulties requiring the imposition of stringent controls, including cuts, on public spending across the board." |
| To compensate for legal aid losses, the Cabinet Office and the Big Lottery Fund have already made £67m available over two years in transitional funding for advice centres. | To compensate for legal aid losses, the Cabinet Office and the Big Lottery Fund have already made £67m available over two years in transitional funding for advice centres. |
| • This article was amended on 9 January 2013. Editing of the original incorrectly inserted the word "Pay" into the name of the Low commission. This has been corrected | |
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