Birmingham law centre closes

Birmingham Law Centre closed its doors last week, following a long campaign to keep it open. The centre helped about 2,000 people each year and was Birmingham’s only community law centre. It is the only law centre in the 56-strong network to receive no local authority funding, and had struggled due to financial problems and the cuts to legal aid funding. A statement from the trustees said the centre had closed due to “irreconcilable cash-flow problems”, and thanked staff and volunteers for their hard work. The centre had five solicitors and 15 paralegal and support staff.