Leicester Community Advice and Law Centre (LCALC) started out as Leicester Money Advice in 1979, providing advice on debt and money matters, as part of the Leicester Charity Organisation Society (now Charity Link). In 1998, we became the first not-for-profit advice provider in Leicester and Leicestershire to secure a franchise with the Legal Services Commission as a specialist debt advice agency.
We were established as an independent organisation in 2000, forming a new company limited by guarantee. In that year, following a local government re-organisation, Leicester City Council’s in-house debt unit was merged with our service and their advice staff transferred to our team. We subsequently re-branded as Community Advice and Law Service (CALS) in 2011 to reflect the breadth and range of services on offer.
In 2006 we secured a contract from the Department for Trade and Industry to deliver the Financial Inclusion Fund’s Face-to-Face Debt Advice work for the East Midlands, and we established the East Midlands Money Advice Partnership (EMMA), now comprising 19 delivery partners across the region. The service is now commissioned and funded by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).
During its long history, CALS has continually innovated, evolved and developed the scope of its advice services in response to the changing needs of the local community. For example, we recently secured funding from Independent Age to provide targeted services for older people to help them through the Cost of Living crisis. We are also delivering a project under the "Getting Help in Neighbourhoods scheme" to support clients with mental health difficulties to engage with our services more effectively.
Our services currently include:
Specialist-level debt advice: this is our original and, in terms of volume, our principal service and includes Debt Relief Orders, Bankruptcy Petitions and representation at the County Court.
Specialist housing advice, including the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme, which has been delivered continuously from our office at Leicester County Court since it was established in 1992.
Specialist Welfare Benefits advice service: this has been part of our service offering since 2012, beginning with a legal aid contract and continued through various sources of funding when legal aid ended. The service comprises casework and representation at appeals.
Specialist Immigration advice: this service was transferred to CALS from our trading arm, Castle Park Solicitors, in 2018, and comprises advice and representation on the range of immigration and asylum matters. It is a charged-for service with fixed fees set at rates below those charged by commercial firms; however, thanks to new funding from the Justice Together Initiative, we will be able to waive all fees for some case types.
Leicester Foodbank Plus, which offers advice on income maximisation and budgeting through outreach sessions at a number of foodbanks in the city, with the aim of tackling the underlying causes of food poverty.
Energywise Plus, which delivers advice on managing energy costs and income maximisation at outreach venues across the city.