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Law centre faces closure after losing lottery grant
City lawyers pledge to take on Paddington cases free of charge
CRUCIAL funding for Paddington Law Centre has been axed.
The centre, a hub of free legal advice in one of the most deprived parts of the country, faces closure after its lottery funding was cancelled.
Lawyers, Karen Buck MP and opposition councillors are rallying to save the centre that has provided free, specialist legal advice to Westminster’s poorest for 35 years. The centre, in Praed Street, could close by September.
Solicitor Leroy Pitter, who specialises in welfare rights at the centre, said it had been forced to make three redundancies.
He said: “They have refused to renew our grant, apparently because we are not financially sound enough for them. Because of the deficit to our budget cash flow we have been forced to downsize.”
He added: “We deal with a lot of cases from some of the poorest people in Westminster. I really do not know what is going to happen to these people.”
The council, which has been criticised for not supporting the service, has given a £7,500 grant but refuses to fund the scheme.
Cllr Ian Adams, lead member for adult services, said: “Although we regret the organisation is in financial difficulty, for us to provide extra funding would cause our grant structure to unravel. Such a move could jeopardise funding for many of the organisations we currently support, organisations which rely on our grants for their survival.”
The £7,500 will only keep the centre running for a few weeks, according to top City lawyers, who this week launched a mass fund-raising campaign.
Lawyers at Hammonds’ have been pledged to take on Paddington cases for free.
Hammonds’ project administrator Heather Sampson confirmed that approaches to individuals and City law firms had raised some money towards bridging the funding gap and that staff had continued to work throughout June without pay.
She said the centre would need £50,000 to keep going until September.
Hammonds’ London partner Stephen Sampson said: “The firm’s been helping out by giving Paddington Law Centre clients pro bono advice for a couple of evenings each month, as well as helping the centre to redecorate one of its buildings and making a significant financial contribution.
“We’ve also helped the centre to plan for reconstruction and to try and get them through this short-term difficulty. But the centre needs new funds to be financially stable and needs to be financially stable to qualify for new funds.”
Chairman of Paddington Law Centre’s board of trustees Peter Purton said the centre had approached Westminster Council for contributions, but without success.
“Paddington Law Centre has survived for more than 30 years despite Westminster Council’s lack of support. Now it seems that the council may well have dealt it a final blow,” he said. |
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