Demonstrating the value of free legal advice

The Access to Justice Foundation in partnership with The Bar Council are undertaking an evaluation of the free legal advice sector.

In 2021 AtJ commissioned Pragmatix Advisory to evaluate the economic value of the free legal advice sector. The final report showed that the Treasury could save over £4bn a year by supporting free legal advice for marginalised communities, keeping 235,000 people in the workforce, producing additional tax revenues of at least £588 million a year. You can read the full report at https://atjf.org.uk/supporting-free-legal-advice-would-save-treasury-4bn-next-year

With funding provided by The Bar Council, this work is being recommissioned, so that the economic efficacy of funding free legal advice and support through savings to the public purse, cutting court backlogs, and improving outcomes for users can be demonstrated.

If you are a frontline service provider please contribute your evidence and insight to the next iteration of this report by completing the survey linked below by 22nd April at 5pm. The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and asks for information on the numbers and types of users accessing your services.

Survey - Assessing the economic benefits of the free legal advice sector 2024

The data collected from this survey is vital to the report and will allow AtJ to put a financial quantity on the value that advice services are providing. Findings will be used to demonstrate the value of early access to free legal advice on the UK economy and directly influence the government to ensure continued funding for free legal advice.