Lord Low and Simon Hughes MP, Minister at the Ministry of Justice[/caption]       The Low Commission launched its follow-up report, Getting it right or getting it wrong, at an event in the House of Commons yesterday.   Speakers from the three main political parties spoke in support of the Commission's work, after hearing from Lord Low who introduced the report's findings. He warned that a growing shortage of social welfare advice is undermining how the welfare system works and leading to poorer health outcomes.   His report also restates the recommendation that that the Government needs to develop a national advice strategy. It contains a wide range of data showing how advice services have been shrinking over time, and how this has been massively exacerbated by recent legal aid changes.   A total of 463 advisers from Citizen Advice Bureau and other voluntary sector advice organisations responded to a survey for the report on the impact of far-reaching changes to legal aid made last year. The survey also examined the Department of Work and Pensions decision-making on welfare benefits, and how these decisions are challenged.   According to advisers:   · 62 percent reported that the legal aid changes had had a substantial and negative impact on their capacity to support clients   · only 13% of welfare decisions are right first time   · their clients experienced increased stress (89%) and financial hardship (95%) arising from the DWP's new reconsideration process   The report, also contains the results of an opinion poll survey of GPs commissioned last year by LAG and funded by the Law Society. The majority of GPs reported huge increases in the numbers of their patients who would have benefited from legal or specialist advice on benefit and debt issues - a 67% increase in benefit problems and a 65% increase in debt problems. 88% of GPs said that lack of access to advice was, to a great extent or some extent, having an adverse impact on patients' health.   The reports recommendations also urge the Government to review the proposed termination of the Advice Services Transition fund as this will undermine advice services further.   The Low Commission's recommendations called for joined up action between local government, NHS and central government Departments like DWP and Ministry of Justice to put in place comprehensive advice plans.   Lord Low believes that the, "report clearly shows that the advice deficit is growing - and this has consequences for welfare, health and other public services, but this is not irreversible. Fixing the advice deficit will take time, the starting point is for Government to embrace a national advice strategy - we hope this can be taken forwards in the next Parliament."   Dominic Grieve, the Conservative former Attorney General, Andy Slaughter Labour's Shadow Legal Aid Minister and Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat Minister at the Ministry of Justice, spoke at the launch. Next month's Legal Action magazine will be carrying a report on the event.   The Low Commission was founded by LAG. It is currently funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, the Legal Education Foundation, Trust for London and the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.   Pic credit: Richard Gray; rugfoot