The latest newsletter of the National Family Carer Network (NFCN) contains an appeal for family carers to contribute to research into the experiences of people with learning disabilities seeking advice about the law.
Since access to legal services is a recurrent issue in calls to our helpline, and bearing in mind the changes to legal aid taking effect on 1st April 2013, we repeat the text of NFCN’s appeal, in the hope that in encourages family carers with relevant experiences to participate:
The Norah Fry Research Centre at the University of Bristol is carrying out research into the experiences of people with learning disabilities when they need advice about the law.
The research is being paid for by the Legal Services Board. The Board ensures that the interests of people who use legal services are placed at the heart of the regulatory system.
People with learning disabilities are often not aware that they could get help to deal with a range of legal issues; they may not know where to go to get help and legal services are not always equipped to help them.
They have asked us to find out about the experiences of people with learning disabilities when they need legal advice. We are looking at the issues that people with learning disabilities need advice about, how easy it is to get the right advice and what could be done to make it more accessible.
The Legal Services Board will use our report to make legal services more accessible for people with learning disabilities.
An important part of the study is finding out more about the role that family carers, friends and other supporters play in helping people with learning disabilities get legal advice.
We also want to find out about the legal advice that family carers seek in their own right: for example when making a will or establishing a trust to safeguard the future of a relative with learning disabilities.
How you can help
You can help by agreeing to be interviewed over the telephone.
We would like to talk to you if you have:
– Supported a relative to get legal advice, whether or not they were successful in getting that advice,
– Sought legal advice about an issue relating to your status as a family carer,
– Helped other family carers get legal advice.
If you would like to know more about the project or arrange a time to speak with us, please contact:
Nour Shiyyab (tel) 0117 3310975 (email) nour.shiyyab@bristol.ac.uk or
Paul Swift (tel) 07740 946564 (email) swpms@bristol.ac.uk