This resource gives brief information on ways you can get advice on benefits, social care and health related issues.
Contents
Face to face advice and case work
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Face to face advice and case work
Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice give advice on legal, money and other problems.
The service is free, independent and confidential.
To find a CAB in your area go to http://ow.ly/QO7Z1.
To find a CAB in Scotland go to www.cas.org.uk/bureaux
CAB are also developing a national phone service. The service is now fully operational in Wales and being rolled out in England. If it is not yet available in your area, you will hear options for recorded information:
- for England call 03444 111 444 or check your local Citizens Advice contact details via the search box below
- for Wales call 03444 77 20 20
- TextRelay users should call 03444 111 445
Law Centres
Law Centres are staffed by solicitors and barristers who can provide free legal advice and representation on civil law cases including: .
- employment
- housing
- discrimination
- welfare benefits
- education
- immigration
To find your nearest Law Centre in England, Wales and Northern Ireland:
Website: www.lawcentres.org.uk
To find your nearest Law Centre in Scotland:
Website: www.govanlc.com/salc
Legal aided funded cases
For advice on legal aid funding see Civil Legal Advice (CLA) below.
Phone helplines
Age UK
Age UK has provides advice and information to older people via its adviceline:
Telephone: 0800 169 2081
Website: www.ageuk.org.uk
Carers UK
Carers UK provides advice and information to carers via its adviceline:
Telephone: 0808 808 7777
Website: www.carersuk.org
Civil Legal Advice (CLA)
Get free and confidential legal advice in England and Wales if you’re eligible for legal aid.
You can get help with legal aid for:
- debt, if your home is at risk
- housing
- domestic abuse
- family, if you’ve been in an abusive relationship
- special educational needs
- discrimination
- issues around a child being taken into care
You can also contact CLA if you’re unhappy about the service you’ve received from them.
The service offers free call backs, free translation if English isn’t your first language. You can also book a British Sign Language interpreter if you need one. You can also check if you are eligible for legal aid.
Telephone: 0345 345 4 345
Minicom: 0345 609 6677
Website: www.gov.uk/civil-legal-advice
Disability Information Scotland
Provides disability-related information to people living in Scotland.
Helpline: 0300 323 9961
SMS: 0778 620 0707
Email: info@disabilityscot.org.uk
Website: www.disabilityscot.org.uk
Disability Law Service
Disability Law Service provides specialist legal advice for disabled people, their families and carers on the following subjects:
- Community Care
- Disability Discrimination
Telephone: 020 7791 9800
Website: http://dls.org.uk/
Disability Rights UK
We have three advice lines:
1. Disabled Students Helpline
This line provides advice to: Disabled students who are studying in England. We also provide advice on post-16 education and training enquiries from disabled students or professionals working with disabled students.
Telephone: 0330 995 0414
Email: students@disabilityrightsuk.org
We can provide general information to students who are studying in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
Disabled students who wish to study in Scotland should contact Lead Scotland (telephone 0131 228 9441).
2. Personal Budgets Helpline
The Advice Line provides advice on getting direct payments, including information on:
- individual budgets/personalisation
- funding from social services in relation to the care needs of the disabled (that also involves issues around appealing against the decision of social services)
- general advice on employing personal assistants
This line does NOT give help with or information about claiming benefits.
Telephone: 0330 995 0404
Email: independentliving@disabilityrightsuk.org
3. Equality Advisory Support Service
The Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) is aimed at individuals who need more expert advice and support on discrimination law and human rights issues than advice agencies and other local organisations can provide.
Phone: 0808 800 0082
Textphone: 0808 800 0084
Website: www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/
There is a webcam portal for BSL users via the Royal Association for Deaf people.
Post: Freepost EASS Helpline FPN6521
Equality and Human Rights Commission
EHRC offer a telephone-based support service on human rights issues for advisers, solicitors and other organisations.
England: 0161 829 8190
Scotland: 0141 228 5990
Wales: 029 2044 7790
The service is available within core office hours.
Irwin Mitchell
Irwin Mitchell have experience of all types of legal cases and has taken cases all the way to the Supreme Court, European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights when necessary.
Website: www.irwinmitchell.com/
National Debtline
This is a free, confidential helpline offering independent advice on how to deal with debt problems.
Telephone: 0808 808 4000
Website: www.nationaldebtline.org
Offenders’ Families Helpline
The National Offenders’ Families Helpline provides help for families on all aspects of the criminal justice system in England and Wales from arrest through to release..
They also provide advice and information on their website.
Telephone: 0808 808 2003
Email: info@offendersfamilieshelpline.org
Website: www.offendersfamilieshelpline.org
Patients Association
The Patients Association helpline is a national helpline providing specialist information, advice and signposting about health and social care. They are not medically trained and cannot give medical or legal advice. The line covers:
- access to treatments
- concern about treatments
- how to make a complaint about any health or social care service
- social care
- patient’s rights and responsibilities
- changing (or finding) your GP or dentist
- seeing your medical records
The helpline will often signpost callers to other organisations when appropriate.
A call back service is provided for those who call out of hours.
Telephone: 020 8423 8999
Email: helpline@patients-association.com
Website: www.patients-association.org.uk
Scope
The Scope helpline provides free, independent and impartial information and support on issues that matter to disabled people and their families. Call 0808 800 3333 or go online at www.scope.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/helpline
Scope can also signpost you to advice line services available throughout Great Britain. For more information go to www.scope.org.uk/support/disabled-people/local/about
Shelter
A national telephone advice line staffed by trained housing advisers.
Telephone: 0808 800 4444
Websites: http://england.shelter.org.uk and http://scotland.shelter.org.uk
Fry Law
If you are being treated less favourably because of your disability in work (or in seeking work), Fry Law may be able to help.
Website: www.frylaw.co.uk/
On the web
Advicelocal
This is an online database which covers:
- benefits
- tax credits
- council tax
- debt and money advice
- housing and homelessness
- employment and work issues
- disability and social care
- asylum and immigration.
You just need to put your post code in and the issue you want advice on and you will be shown more information as well as details of advice centres in your area.
Website: https://advicelocal.uk/
Benefits adviser
DWP used to provide an online calculator – the Benefits Adviser. This is now offline and visitors to the GOV.UK site will be signposted towards independent, online benefit calculators offered by other organisations. Links to calculators will be placed on GOV.UK. For more information go to www.gov.uk/benefits-calculators
Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice provides online information on your rights, including benefits, housing, family matters and employment, and on debt, consumer and legal issues.
Website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
Legal Aid Agency - Community Legal Advice
This is an online database which enables you to search for legal advisers or solicitors near you.
Website: http://find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk/
Advice referral
Bar Pro Bono Unit
The Bar Pro Bono Unit can put people who need legal advice and representation in touch with barristers who are willing to work for no fee or ‘pro bono’ (‘for the good’). The Unit takes applications through advice agencies and solicitors and aims to help in cases where someone cannot afford to pay, cannot get legal aid and has a ‘meritorious’ case (in other words, a good case).
Website: www.barprobono.org.uk
Free Representation Unit
The Free Representation Unit (FRU) is a registered charity. It can provide legal advice, case preparation and advocacy in tribunal cases in all areas of social security law. Cases must be referred to the FRU through a referral agency. Some of these are listed on the FRU website and they include Citizens Advice Bureaus and Law Centres and some solicitors. The FRU cannot accept referrals direct from members of the public and it does not accept cases until a tribunal hearing date has been arranged.
Website: www.thefru.org.uk
LawWorks
LawWorks is a charity working in England and Wales to connect volunteer lawyers with people in need of legal advice, who are not eligible for legal aid and cannot afford to pay.
Website: www.lawworks.org.uk/
Written advice
If you need detailed information in writing see our Disability Rights Handbook. This and all our other publications are available from our shop at https://shop.disabilityrightsuk.org/. You can also place orders by contacting Disability Rights UK.
We also have over fifty factsheets which give information on benefits, tax credits, independent living, appeals, education and other help you can get. All our factsheets are free to download on our website at disabilityrightsuk.org.
Immigration
Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice provide advice on immigration, including:
- Problems with visa applications and documents
- Visas for family and friends
- Asylum and refugees
- Trafficking
- Deportation and living in the UK illegally
If the issue is too complicated for them to advise they can refer you to someone who may be able to help.
Website: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
More information: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/immigration/
Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
The Joint Council for the welfare of immigrants (JCWI) can offer the following:
Legal Advice: JCWI can arrange a fixed-fee appointment with a solicitor.
Helplines: JCWI has three helplines
- One for undocumented migrants (020 7553 7470)
- One for foreign national prisoners (020 7553 7468/Fax: 020 7251 8707)
- A Unison helpline, specifically for members of UNISON. You will need to contact UNISON first.
Website: www.jcwi.org.uk/about/legal-advice
6 December 2017
