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Cuts and jobs fears hit Chinatown law service
A LEGAL advice centre in Chinatown has been forced to make cuts that “will hurt poor people” after the decision not to renew funding was approved .
The Central London Law Centre has run from its Whitcomb Street HQ for 25 years but staff fear redundancies are inevitable unless another body steps in to fill the £20,000 funding void.
London Councils came to the end of its four year funding agreement with the centre last week.
Solicitor Ginny Halley, one of seven centre staff, said: “We are very disappointed. The worst case scenario is that we will have to make redundancies. I’ve only worked here five and a half years but some staff have been here for 20 and have grown very attached to it.
“We will struggle on but it is going to be the people at the bottom of the pile who will be worst hit by this. It will hurt poor people. We will have to prioritise legal aid for the funding which means reducing some of our free services. It’s really a case of damage limitation until we can find someone else to fund us.”
Mrs Halley said a drop-in service for immigration and housing advice had already been cut to fortnightly from weekly. Staff have also proposed getting rid of their free advice phone line but it remains for now.
The reaction from Chinatown has been disappointment. Jabez Lam, co-ordinator of the Chinese Immigration Concern Committee, said: “Central London Law Centre is a long-established and well respected service to London’s Chinese.
“Continued changes to immigration rules make the Chinese community feel under attack and it is more important now than ever that free professional legal advice is available.”
London Councils said 40 organisations were bidding for the funding pot and there was only enough money for 19.
“It was not an easy decision to make but The Central London Law Centre did not meet all the criteria,” a spokesperson said. |
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