MP's debate state of Legal Aid in North West with mention to VLC.

Yesterday, a hugely important debate on the current state of #LegalAid and #AccessToJustice in the North West took place in parliament.

We want to say a big thank you to the MPs involved including Kim Johnson MP, Dan Carden MP, Afzal Khan MP, Mick Whitley MP and Rebecca Long Bailey MP for highlighting the injustices that are happening in our communities.

Thank you to Ian Byrne MP for also supporting our work and going above and beyond in the name of #AccessToJustice to fund our pro bono Housing & Social Welfare Solicitor so that we can provide our pro bono housing advice service.

As frontline advisers on issues such as homelessness, destitution and evictions it can often feel as if we are providing an emergency service. All of our work is provided pro bono and is funded by grants from our brilliant funders who support our work and our communities.

We are dealing with a number of crises in our sector impacting access to justice including the lack of availability of legal aid due to cuts, a decade of austerity which is increasing poverty in our communities, a recruitment & succession crisis highlighted by Young Legal Aid Lawyers and a £17.5m funding deficit in the next financial year, according to research by the The Access to Justice Foundation.

The govt must step up and support our sector in the coming months as vulnerable people in Liverpool face even further hardship in the #CostOfLivingCrisis.

You can watch the debate in full here.