Govan Law Centre (GLC) is delighted to have received the Pro Bono (for the public good) Team of the Year accolade at last week’s The Herald’s Law Awards of Scotland. GLC solicitor Charis Brooks was at the Law Awards ceremony in Glasgow to accept the prestigious award on behalf of the law centre’s team and board of directors.
One of Govan Law Centre’s most significant achievements is its commitment to a rights-based approach to legal representation. The team regularly enforce statutory homelessness rights with the solicitors able to instruct our in-house solicitor advocate to draft urgent petitions for judicial reviews in the Court of Session. This high level of intervention has been crucial in holding public bodies accountable and ensuring that people with complex needs are able to exercise their statutory rights under both the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 and the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2014 as amended.
Working closely with and receiving referrals from the Scottish Refugee Council, the Simon Community, Shelter Scotland and Homeless Project Scotland, GLC secured temporary accommodation for over 250 clients from December 2023 to March 2024 with the crisis continuing, by negotiation and, in many cases, preparing judicial reviews to obtain temporary housing for the clients and to get them off the street. This has been intensive but extremely rewarding work for the legal team.
Our Women’s Rights Project offers a free legal service for women and children facing homelessness or housing instability or living in unsuitable or unsafe living conditions who may be experiencing or at risk of domestic abuse or violence against women and girls. The project was set up in response to the fact that women experience homelessness differently from men, often sofa surfing or residing in an unsafe environment without access to homelessness services. This female-led project provides a drop-in service at a women’s only outreach at the Simon Community weekly. We have received many written testimonials regarding the positive impact this project has had on service-users.
GLCs legal work does not stop at individual cases. The team actively seek to challenge systemic failures and discriminatory practices through strategic litigation. This includes the law centre’s involvement in several high-profile judicial reviews.
Due to its national reputation, GLC has been approached by local community groups throughout Scotland to provide assistance in the threatened closure or loss of local amenities. These closures will have a profound effect on communities long term and are the result of local government cutbacks. These cases have included – closure of libraries, closure of swimming pools, adult day centres for those with learning disabilities or autism and community centres and loss of green space parks and woodlands.
