Over the past few years successive governments have imposed stinging welfare cuts. This has left most vulnerable in our community unable to afford the most basic essentials. At the GMLC we actively campaign for reversing these cuts and fight on behalf of those affected by providing access to free face-to-face legal advice. On this page you can find all the latest news on our campaigning and services relating to welfare benefits.
At GMLC we strive to amplify the voices of people who come through our door. We are committed to challenging the stigmatisation of benefit claimants as lazy, feckless frauds who need to be sanctioned, threatened, frightened and punished back into work. You can read more in our manifesto here. The article below was originally published…
We have a monthly column in the Law Society Messenger. You can see the full June edition here. This month, GMLC volunteer Edmund Potts analyses the recent announcement that the maximum benefit sanction period is to be cut from three years to six months. Edmund volunteered as a tribunal advocate with our scheme for Manchester Law School…
Large and lively picket lines have marked the start of a 2-day strike by Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union members at Walsall and Wolverhampton Universal Credit service centres taking action today (May 28) and tomorrow. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Our members who work to support some of the most vulnerable members of…
On Thursday, 11th April, we launched our manifesto at a public event. The event was packed. 150 people were in attendance: students, advisers, lawyers and community groups, old and new friends. The full manifesto can now be downloaded here. Norma Turner, one of GMLC’s founders, chaired the event and speakers included GMLC Patron and human rights lawyer Robert…
by GMLC volunteer Alex McColl R (Johnson & Ors) v SSWP [2019] EWHC 23 (Admin) In January this year, four single mothers won a case in the High Court against the DWP in a judicial review of the way in which universal credit is calculated. Universal credit was introduced in 2013. It merged six other…
We are pleased to announce that our project with the Manchester Law School has been nominated for Manchester’s Pro Bono/Community Initiative Award. As part of our Legal Advocacy Support Project (LASP), students from Manchester Metropolitan University’s Law School receive GMLC’s professional training and supervision, meet disabled and unwell people who have been refused benefits, prepare their cases…
Legal aid ‘decimated’ This week, one of the nation’s top news stories is a topic too often overlooked: the decimation of the Legal aid advice network. Legal disputes affect our homes, our families, our treatment as employees and more. They affect our very survival, for example when unwell or disabled people are left destitute after being…
We have a monthly column in the Law Society Messenger. You can see the full December edition here. This month, GMLC volunteer Alex McColl writes about what drives him as an aspiring barrister pursuing a career in social welfare and human rights law. The Greater Manchester Law Centre is a campaign for free access…
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…
The voluntary sector should not be helping the government implement the iniquitous and inhumane restrictions on benefits represented by Universal Credit. It is not the role of the voluntary advice organisations to take government money to implement something that is fundamentally against the best interests of those they are supposed to be supporting – GMLC…