The Trustees of the Isle of Wight Law Centre have, sadly and with no other option, made the very difficult decision to close the Law Centre after nearly 20 years.
This will take place with immediate effect from 31st March 2023 and current clients have been made aware of the situation for some time.
A closure crisis in August 2022 led to a funding injection from the Isle of Wight Council, as previously reported by Island Echo. That funding has now ceased and no other funds are available from any sources to support the Law Centre’s sustainability into the future.
A spokesperson from the Isle of Wight Law Centre has said:
“The local community will feel the Law Centre’s loss bitterly. It has been a lifeline and a beacon of support for vulnerable local people facing difficult circumstances and many will now struggle without ongoing support.
“Finally, we would like to thank our amazing team at the Law Centre for always acting with professionalism, enthusiasm & dedication and for having a genuine compassion for the needs of their clients.”
This is disgusting. The council have nearly a million quid for green energy initiatives and air conditioning but basic justice isn’t funded.
And now the law becomes the preserve of those that can afford it! How very sad!
So,
income in 2021 was from the following charitable activities..
from homelessness prevention – £105,179
from isle of wight council – zero
from legal aid – £1,727
from housing association – £3,500
from grants – £206,250 (from crisis uk/law centre federation/national lottery and others)
total income – £316,656
amount spent on staff salaries – £206,477
doesn’t leave a lot to provide the support people want, when two thirds of all money received by the law centre is given to the employees. No wonder the existing supporters don’t want to give any more, just to pay the staff.
accounts are freely viewable on companies house and charity register
Yes but it’s the staff who give the advice and help !
But staff have to be paid, same as CAB,Age Concern , IOW council and every other legal firm in the country. Where you think free workers would come from ?. £200,000 was great value for the thousands of people that were helped to improve their welfare ( many a suicide prevented and homes secured) fight scams and debt relief etc. Now you and I will have to pay more of our taxes to scam no win no fee companies and more in benefits to people who become homeless etc. This is such a small amount considering the millions the council waste on projects that help no one or only a very few.
Incorrect, CAB and age concern mostly rely on qualified volunteers and have very few paid personel,
This is one of the most odd responses I’ve ever heard. The staff are rightly paid to support and advise the clients. The staff ARE the reason the centre can provide a service!
You are missing the point – it is supposed to be a registered charity – and the definition of charity is doing something for nothing – these “staff” simply made a living off the backs of donations,when they should of been providing their services for free – to a charity.
that is the problem these days – the whole purpose of charity no longer exists and is now just another way for people to live off.
donations should be used to – pay for the electric/gas/water etc of the building/cost of supplies such as paper/computers and then external advice from private lawyers where points of law need analysing.
I won’t donate to any charity that simply hands the money to staff in wages
That isn’t what “registered charity” means. It means an organisation that is funded by donations.
Almost all charities employ paid staff. Mountbatten being the obvious example on the Isle of Wight. Their nurses and doctors are paid the going rate. As are the paramedics, doctors and pilots of air ambulance charities.
Even the RNLI have paid staff, like engineers, and administrative staff.
If you “won’t donate to any charity that simply hands the money to staff in wages” then you won’t be giving to any,
thats right – i won’t be giving any money to any charity, ever
jessip: “thats right – i won’t be giving any money to any charity, ever“
If everyone thought like you then the following would happen.
No Mountbatten hospice.
No RNLI.
No Macmillan nurses.
No Air Ambulance.
No Citizens Advice.
Basically all but the tiniest garden shed type charities would cease to exist.
You are OK with that?
You happy to turn away any of those that come to your aid because it would be utterly hypocritical to accept their help given your opinion as to how they are run?
So if you have a heart attack and a St Johns ambulance first responder is first on the scene you are going to turn them away, are you? Because “filthy charity”, right?
Idiot!
Yes – I am ok with it.
and insulting someone for a differing point of view, shows your true self smiffy.
Let’s just hope you don’t need the RNLI when your ferry gets into trouble. If we were all like you, they wouldn’t exist.
in theory you might be right. but in practice, if most people worked for charity they then would need charity to survive. and you have something akin to non-market socialism.
All charities employ full-time staff and pay the going rate for the jobs they do because they won’t get the staff if they don’t ( pay peanuts – get monkeys applies )
One prime example is Macmillan Cancer Support. You will find that while they do use volunteers, all of their famous and fantastic nurses are paid employees. It would be utterly impossible to provide the kind of care they do using unpaid volunteers.
I have worked for this charity for 12 years and we all took a pay cut to to keep our jobs, so that the Island can obtain FREE Impartial, Advice and Representation in courts and tribunals, and to save their homes, so people like yourself do not have to find the money for expensive solicitors fees to stop you being evicted/repossessed. We did not live on donations we had to work very hard and spent hours and hours of work bidding against other organisations just to get a little money to help others, we have never spent our money on IT or fancy phones and equipment, it was utilised to pay the expert advisors who worked hard for their qualifications & were happy to work for little pay knowing we delivered such a fantastic service.
so people like yourself do not have to find the money for expensive solicitors fees
you know nothing about me, so don’t make assumptions eh.
for the record, any legal advice I have obtained has been at the standard rate charged by a qualified solicitor in the field required on a bookable hours basis. Normally I just review and interpret law myself, as it isn’t that difficult and follow up accordingly, as it is a more efficient way for me to work.
So it continues, the planned erosion of our social system by the conservatives. Removing access to free legal advice was always on their agenda. It seems to me that starving essential public services of funding is a basic conservative concept. Divert funding upwards and create division or diversion to placate the public with propaganda nonsense. We are heading for a time when a similar announcement is made about basic NHS services, vote for them at your peril.
we need to cut spending, to cut taxes, or has that bit been lost on you.
why should I pay more in tax, just to fund some benefit spongers spurious claim
Because one day you may need their help or a family member may. That is how society works!
no it isn’t how society works -you are supposed to work, earn or make money and then employ the services of a legal professional, if you need one – not leech off others to survive.
Who said anything about benefit spongers ?. Everyone can get forced into financial bother,be wrongfully evicted, have a false claim against them, have identity stolen etc etc. Cutting spending to charities will increase taxes – fact.
no it won’t – it will cut the sponging dependency we see in this country and make people actually have to fend for theirselves for once.
It’s all part of the Tory plan to US-ify our society so the spivs that gave us Brexit can become even richer.
The way that Bozo Johnson and Frog-face Farage had their noses up trumps backside should have rung alarm bells but, no, the stupid and gullible went and did exactly what they wanted.
And don’t think “Sleepy Joe” is any better. American politics is a choice between hard right (Democrats) and extreme right (Republicans).
Charity exists to help secure he basic standards of living that are being denied to more & more of us:
Adequate housing provision, access to basic essentials like heat & food, access to healthcare including dentists.
‘Poverty management’ charities are the biggest industries in UK right now. It is a sign of huge societal sickness. Fund basic living standards properly & the need for charity lessens.
Charity exists to help secure he basic standards of living that are being denied to more & more of us:
you could always get a job, earn more money, enhance your skills, learn things and better yourself instead of expecting your standard of life to be provided by others.
Just another plan of the Isle of Wight Tory party long wanted ax. So they can complete with the 12 year long social cleansing.
Now it becomes whatever the rich dictate, that is the law, no justice. The crooks with the most now dictate the law.