The Advising Londoners Awards are presented by the Advice Services Alliance in partnership with University House.
The awards celebrate the delivery of intelligent and good quality advice services available to people living in the London area.
Any ‘not for profit’ organisation providing free legal advice services to people living within the 32 London borough area could enter under the following eight categories:
1) Best pan-London advice service
2) Best borough-wide advice service
3) Best contribution to advice by a team
4) Best contribution to advice by an individual
5) Best use of innovation by an advice service
6) Best advice service promoting Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
7) Best advice wellbeing project or initiative
8) Best use of evidence in advice work to achieve positive change.
An additional award was given to recognise outstanding contribution in the London advice sector. It was made in honour of former barrister Charles Bennett in recognition of four decades volunteering at University House.
Congratulations to all the winners announced at a ceremony on 18 November, hosted by Clifford Chance LLP.
Advising Londoners Partnership is a groundbreaking partnership between the Greater London Authority, London Citizens Advice and the London Legal Support Trust, and is described as unique in its scale and ambition. Since 2022, with £8mn funding from the London mayor’s office, it has provided advice and support to 80,000 Londoners, and secured a whopping £35m in financial gains, in the form of benefits claimed, income maximised, and debts written off. Truly life changing work.
Greenwich Advice Hubs aims to give Greenwich residents access to a wide range of services, in places which are at the heart of the community. Its hubs bring together not just council officers, but advisers from Greenwich Citizens Advice, Greenwich Housing Rights and Plumstead Community Law Centre – all in one place at the same time. People are given a free meal. The hubs aim to break down the practical and emotional barriers that stop people seeking help, and they appear to be succeeding. In the words of one happy customer: ‘The staff are like ordinary citizens – they understand the community.’
Positive East works across North East London supporting people with HIV to live full, stable and healthy lives. The team’s expert advice helps people resolve problems with things like welfare benefits, housing and immigration, which can get in the way of dealing with the psychological impact of their condition. This passionate and, equally, compassionate team of experts includes people like Simon Farris and Peter Ekakoro, who have both been working and volunteering in the not-for-profit sector for around three decades.
Jennine Bailey, senior advice coordinator at Access Social Care. Jennine works with people navigating adult social care, helping them secure the support they need to live with dignity and independence. She is praised for her commitment to fairness, her deep expertise and collaborative spirit. Her dedication to her clients has been unwavering, whatever the challenges involved.
Citizens Advice Hammersmith and Fulham is an advice agency based in West London. It has really embraced innovation. Its ‘More than advice’ initiative recognises that legal advice alone – however expert – cannot solve the complex challenges that many Londoners face. Its response to this is to embed legal advice in trusted community centres, including two local libraries, and offering legal expertise alongside classes in things like English language and digital skills. Citizens Advice Hammersmith and Fulham has also created a digital service, using familiar, low-cost technology – like WhatsApp and translation apps – so people can access advice at times that suit them.
Centre for Armenian Information & Advice was founded in 1986. The centre has been known and loved by generations of London’s Armenian community. One supporter says it has ‘cared for and supported me, my parents, aunt and uncles for over three decades’. Its advice is provided in multiple languages and is sensitive to the cultural, historical and psychological needs of its refugee and migrant communities. It is described as ‘deeply rooted in equity, diversity and inclusion, meeting clients where they are and tailoring support to their needs’.
Age UK Westminster provides a lifeline for older residents in one of London’s most unequal boroughs, supporting them through bereavement, redundancy, relationship breakdown, declining health, disability, unsuitable housing, even victimisation from scammers. The list goes on. Its service recognises there are often no quick fixes and its team will work side-by-side with people for up to 18 months, to help them rebuild their lives, and regain their independence, confidence, security and well being.
Greenwich Welfare Rights Service uses data from Greenwich council’s housing benefit department to identify residents who are due to move from other benefits on to Universal Credit, which can be a daunting and not always seamless process for claimants. The service identifies and contacts individuals as they are approaching their Universal Credit deadline which, if missed, could leave them with no income. It alerts Greenwich council’s tenancy team as to when residents are due to be moved to universal credit, so residents can be encouraged to attend the service’s clinic for support in making their applications.
Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit was founded just over a decade ago and from the outset punched above its weight. At the time, it was considered a trailblazer, possibly a bit of an upstart. It was a bold new initiative, driven by the vision of its founders who were – and are – a group of brilliant, inspirational lawyers and campaigners.
The founders’ mission was both simple – and also immensely difficult and challenging. To create an organisation with a laser-like focus on fighting for the rights of victims and survivors of trafficking and labour exploitation. This was at a time when there was next to nothing in UK domestic law to protect victims’ rights – which had barely been thought about by legislators or policy makers.
Since then, this organisation has brought a string of successful test cases, including the first-ever case on the anti-trafficking convention to the supreme court. This apparently unstoppable female-led team works tirelessly – but we shouldn’t sugar coat it: the work is tiring. It is relentless. It is demanding personally and professionally – and despite all the gains they have made, the challenges they and their clients face, against an increasingly hostile political backdrop, must seem never ending.
The judging panel were unanimous in their decision to name ATLEU as the winners of the 2025 Bennett Award.
Congratulations too to the full list of 21 organisations and four individuals shortlisted in the awards.
Back to Advising Londoners Awards
