Tim Baldwin of the Garden Court Chambers Housing Law Team has co-written an article for Legal Action Group, with Karen Ashton of Central England Law Centre, Louise Eardley of Gold Jennings, and Caroline Miles and Laura Peters of Access Social Care.
In the article, ‘Adapt and Survive’, legal experts Karen Ashton, Tim Baldwin, Louise Eardley, Caroline Miles and Laura Peters explored the sharp decline in community care legal aid practitioners and called for urgent action to reverse the trend.
Although community care law remained in scope after the 2013 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) cuts, the number of Legal Aid cases has plummeted by around two-thirds over the past decade. The article attributed this to financial unsustainability, limited supervision, and systemic barriers that deter lawyers from pursuing or remaining in the field.
Access Social Care (ASC) highlighted the underuse of investigative representation (IR), a funding option designed to support complex early work in community care cases at higher rates. Barriers included lack of awareness, difficulty navigating legal aid systems, and low confidence in Legal Aid Agency (LAA) decision-making. ASC is working with the LAA to improve guidance, co-produce training, and develop templates to help practitioners access IR. The organisation also launched a Community of Practice to support lawyers working in community care, aiming to tackle burnout, isolation, and the lack of viable career pathways.
Tim Baldwin
Tim Baldwin is ranked in Chambers UK for Social Housing, Community Care, and Civil Liberties and Human Rights and is also identified as a leading junior in the Legal 500 for Social Housing, Court of Protection and Community Care, and Administrative Law and Human Rights. Tim’s practice concerns all aspects social housing working including possession, disrepair and housing standards work, homelessness, allocation of social housing, community care including migrant support. Tim’s practice in housing and homelessness is largely in the High Court or Appellate courts or in complex specialist proceedings in the County Court. He is also Co-Chair of the Housing Law Practitioners’ Association (HLPA), and a member of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) advisory panel.
