Written by: Caroline Langdell, Senior Programmes Manager 

Every year, London Legal Support Trust (LLST) undertakes its Centre of Excellence (COEx) Annual Survey to understand how advice agencies across London and the Southeast are faring, what has changed, and where support is needed most. With the 2025 report now in the final drafting stages, we wanted to share some insight into the high level themes that have emerged.  

All 42 COEx partners have contributed data, insights and reflections. Their input provides an invaluable snapshot of the pressures, strengths and opportunities shaping in the sector. We know that capacity is tight and pressure is high, so we thank them all for making the time to share their data and support our learning. 

What we’re hearing from partners: 

  1. Funding instability is now a defining challenge 

Across the board, organisations reported growing financial fragility. Shifts in funder priorities, inconsistent local authority commissioning, and ongoing legal aid pressures are combining to create a level of instability that means every single partner mentioned it as one of the major risks for the coming year. 

These findings echo what LLST is hearing through other programmes and sector led networks where long term, unrestricted investment continues to be highlighted as essential for organisational resilience. 

  1. Workforce pressures are intensifying

Recruitment difficulties have not eased, instead they appear to have become an embedded and expected part of working in the advice sector. And it’s not just about recruitment but retention, wellbeing and in multiple cases, staff safety. Many organisations described rising burnout, complex casework trauma, challenges competing on salary, and increased incidents of client crisis or hostility. 

This will come as no surprise to those who are familiar with LLST’s wider workforce and capacity initiatives including the Advice Workforce Development Fund, which show a sector struggling to maintain a sustainable pipeline of skilled advisers, billing staff and supervising solicitors. 

  1. External pressures are reshaping the landscape

Partners pointed to a particularly challenging environment this year: policy uncertainty, cost of living impacts on clients and staff, and digital exclusion all featured prominently. Many also raised concerns about rising far right activity and safety considerations for frontline staff. 

We’ve seen these issues raised repeatedly in both sector and funder led networks, with similar patterns appearing across the wider advice ecosystem. While it reinforces the need for coordinated, system level responses, it also serves as a reminder of the vital importance of supporting frontline services as they continue to provide essential support in increasingly challenging circumstances. 

  1. Demand continues to rise — and complexity is deepening

While some organisations saw changes in overall volumes, the consistent theme was increasing complexity. Clients are arriving with multi-issue problems linked to homelessness, benefits transitions, insecure immigration status, and wider system failures. 

In several areas, organisations reported reducing services not because demand dropped, but because staffing and funding constraints limited capacity to meet need. 

  1. Digital Infrastructure & AI

Partners highlighted ongoing challenges with outdated or overstretched digital systems, noting that investment in basic IT and secure infrastructure remains difficult under current funding constraints. Many also raised early experiences with AI — from challenges with clients using AI‑generated content to interest in how it may be able to support service delivery — but stressed that many agencies currently lack the capacity, confidence and resources to adopt these tools safely and effectively. 

  1. LLST support remains a stabilising forc

Partners described COEx’s unrestricted funding, training and consultancy as ‘vital’ during an increasingly turbulent year. It helped organisations to retain specialist staff, bridge funding gaps, invest in essential infrastructure and strengthen leadership, supervision and workforce culture. 

Engagement with the programme’s wider training programme, peer forums, and consultancy offers also remained high, confirming the value of a combined funding and support model. 

Next steps 

We’ll be sharing the full report with our partners over the coming weeks to sense check, discuss and refine the findings before releasing the final report. These conversations will also help shape our support priorities for 2026, including training, consultancy, fundraising support, and initiatives linked to workforce sustainability and leadership development. 

Thank you to every organisation that contributed to the survey. Your insights not only strengthen the report—they help shape the future of LLST’s work and our collective ability to secure access to justice for the communities we serve. 

Useful resources: 

In addition to our COEx Annual Survey, LLST have been involved in the production of a number of reports that have helped to research and highlight the needs of the sector: