As said by our patron, actor Maxine Peake: “This is about tackling the brutal victimisation of the most vulnerable within our society. So, we need to get behind the Greater Manchester Law Centre. We need to set up a standing order, we need to donate money to help them continue their tireless and fearless work.”
Set up a standing order or donate today. Click here to help!
This September, the Greater Manchester Law Centre is hosting its Annual General Meeting, celebrating how far we have come and the team we have built. Read about all the work we have done over the past year in our Annual Report 2018 here.
We have reclaimed over one million pounds which had been falsely denied to disabled claimants, we now have a full time housing solicitor, we have supported local campaigns at the forefront of welfare and housing issues, and we have fought for the reinstatement of Legal Aid. Our existence and progress is a triumph, but we need your support.
This article by our chair, John Nicholson, was featured in Counsel Magazine, the monthly journal of the Bar of England and Wales. Extraordinary Working Lives: John Nicholson Free-access-to-justice campaigner John Nicholson recounts a day in the life as a legal aid lawyer operating in the hostile environment Waking in the early hours. Anxious…
We are pleased to announce that article below features in a two-page spread by Julia Baskerville in this month’s Law Society Messenger, and we will have our own monthly column from December onwards. Greater Manchester Law Centre opened its doors in Moss Side in August 2016 and was officially ‘launched’ in February 2017.…
By Robert Povall. Robert is a Campaign Volunteer with GMLC. He has just commenced the BPTC at the University of Law and is passionate about making a difference. He wants to become a Barrister, specialising in immigration, civil liberties and human rights. Below, Robert reviews the DWP’s error which resulted in over 180,000 disability benefit…
We stand in solidarity with those affected by the appalling treatment of the Windrush generation. At our premises in Moss Side, Manchester, we have been receiving dozens of inquiries from our local community worried about their immigration status. Whilst GMLC currently does not offer immigration advice, we offer some guidance for those affected.
But we also say that this scandal was not an anomaly, but a consequence of the Government’s ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy. We are campaigning for a change in the law to protect people’s rights.
This page is regularly updated, as new information becomes available.
“We can’t just scrabble to give advice to people queuing out the door. The focus needs to be on challenging legislation and the treatment of migrants as a whole” says GMLC employee Roz Burgin.
https://www.gmlaw.org.uk/2018/04/30/we-need-new-laws-so-that-windrush-never-happens-again/
We ask, for reasons set out in our article, in addition to compensation based on individual circumstances, a minimum amount is given to everyone affected by the scandal with an additional set amount given to anyone who travelled back to the UK after a visit abroad.
We also propose that clear and simple details of the compensation scheme, and ways of applying for it, are publicised widely, including directly with all advice agencies working in the communities affected.
https://www.gmlaw.org.uk/2018/06/06/gmlc-response-to-the-windrush-compensation-consultation/
“We propose that the government agree to pay everyone affected by the ‘Windrush’ scandal a minimum level of General Compensatory Damages. This is in addition to compensation payments to be made based on a persons’ individual circumstances” – GMIAU
“There needs to be both a political and commercial response to right the tragic wrong[s] which has been done to far too many, by providing a reparative payment that truly reflects the harm done to all those who have been wronged. A baseline figure [£10,000] should be given to all and be increased on a case by case basis depending on the complexity of each case” – Kenworthys Chambers
Read more here:
