Early advice and help can stop people becoming homeless, be consumed by debt or be treated unjustly at work or by landlords. The Baptist Union of Great Britain, the United Reformed Church and the Methodist Church are supporting the Justice for All campaign. This campaign is needed because community legal and advice services which help the most vulnerable in a community get treated fairly are under threat through the Government's Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill and through spending cuts.
The President of the Methodist Conference, Revd Leo Osborn, said recently:
The President of the Methodist Conference, Revd Leo Osborn, said recently:
Research by Justice for All suggests that under the new arrangements, a third of the country may not have face to face employment, housing or debt advice.If you would like to write to your MP in advance of the report stages debate in the House of Commons, find out more information from the Justice for All website or use their online tool to write directly to your MP."It is clear that over the coming months and years the
numbers of people in living in poverty will increase. Decisions regarding benefits and housing will become
increasingly crucial in people’s lives. Sadly there are people that seek to exploit those who have fallen on hard times. This is a time when legal advice and access to justice for the poorest will become increasingly important and it is vital that the government recognises
this priority."Justice should be available to all, it is not a commodity to be bought and sold. Any system which makes just treatment dependant on a person’s income is profoundly at odds with Gospel values."
