The 'CLOCK in Kent' project

The number of litigants in person (LiPs) has risen exponentially over the last decade. This has coincided with the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules and legislation; the Access to Justice Act 1999, which was introduced to promote just that “access to justice”.

The reality however is that through various government initiatives since the first New Labour administration of 1997 which started dismantling aspects of the Welfare State (set up by the post-war reforming Labour government), which has included the introduction of competitive price tendering for Legal Aid contracts and the systematic withdrawal of Legal Aid for areas of civil justice including personal injury, clinical negligence and most recently private family law, a whole raft of the UK citizens have been disenfranchised and fall within what is commonly termed the ‘justice gap’. This has given rise to an increased number of LiPs who have been unable to afford legal advice .

The concern within the judiciary is evident and initiatives are beginning to be explored to remedy what is undoubtedly a growing problem for the civil justice system. Due to closure of many charitable advice services and law centres during the past six years or so of austerity, Universities have for instance started to fill the space once occupied by legal advice services which traditionally provided advice and assistance to those most in need at no cost to the end-user.

The CLOCK in Kent Community Legal Companion project is a social justice outreach initiative, which provides LIPs with the opportunity to have access to justice through the assistance of law students at CCCU. The student Companions assist society's more vulnerable to navigate the court system and where required, signpost them to partner provider agencies and free legal advice services.