Review of the National Occupational Standards for Legal Advice
Sector Consultation
Skills for Justice are currently reviewing the suite of NOS which have been developed for Legal Advice to ensure that they are up to date and applicable to all four UK countries. The revised NOS are currently available for consultation at the following link: NOS Consultation or by selecting the highlighted shortcuts on this page.
Getting involved in shaping your sector
It is significant that the standards designed for the sector are shaped by the sector and so Skills for Justice would like your feedback from you as to whether these NOS are fit for purpose. The people in a good position to judge this are those who have vital experience of working in the sector.
The work areas which these NOS relate to include advice for consumers, welfare, clinical negligence, asylum, immigration, disability, education, discrimination, employment, family, housing, mental health, money, health and community care, personal injury, and young people. You can give feedback on any of the units which you have expertise or experience in.
For the unit relating specifically to Money Advice select here: New Draft NOS for Money Advice (Units LA 41 and 42).
The full suite of units can be accessed by clicking here NOS for Legal Advice.
Background Information
The current suite of National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Legal Advice were developed and approved in 2006. The project was funded by the European Social Fund and overseen by a steering group of key organisations and agencies from across the legal advice sector in England and Wales.
The current standards are now three years old. There is an ever changing demand for legal advice in reaction to social imperatives such as the recent credit squeeze and changes in legislation. The NOS need to be reviewed and updated to take account of these changes. Another consideration is the need to revise the standards so that they are applicable in the legislative frameworks of Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as England and Wales.
The revised standards have been developed with the support of legal advice experts in all four countries and they are now available for sector wide consultation across the legal advice sectors in the UK.
It is important that the proposed National Occupational Standards are fit for purpose and that they meet the professional development needs of people working in the legal advice sector. We would like to invite you to contribute to the development process by reviewing the new and revised NOS for Legal Advice completing a questionnaire.
The survey is somewhat complex as there are 68 units in the suite of NOS for Legal Advice. We suggest that you read the Consultation Guidance that accompanies this Consultation Questionnaire and that you only comment on those Units that are of particular interest to you.
If you wish to suggest any amendments to the NOS, please download the relevant Unit onto your hard disc and amend using ‘tracked changes’. Alternatively, you can complete one of the comment sheets included in the survey.
All feedback should be sent to fay.nicholls@skillsforjustice.com by the deadline of 30th January 2009.
