Improving Lives Through Advice Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Annual Form 1 October 2025 - 31 March 2026

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Note: 
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Section 1: Organisation, Reporting Period and Contact Details. 

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ILTA Outcome: Advice to people from marginalised communities is sustained and improved 
When completing the table, record the number of beneficiaries supported in each category. Use “Number of Beneficiaries Accessing Legal Advice” for beneficiaries you directly advised, and “Number of Beneficiaries Supported to Access Legal Advice” for those who were referred or guided to other services i.e. referring to another organisation for legal advice, referred to online resources etc. Use “Pageviews of Legal Advice Web Pages” if you provide legal advice web resources and include the number of pageviews of those resources. If a beneficiary received help in multiple areas, count them under each relevant category.

 

Please note we only want you to include legal advice or supporting access to legal advice within the social welfare legal sphere. Our definitions of social welfare law includes; Asylum, Community Care, Debt, Disability, Discrimination, Education, Employment, Family, Housing, Immigration, Mental health, Public and Administrative law, Welfare Benefits. It does not include Criminal Law work.

Does your organisation provide legal advice to clients?

 

The legal advice provided to beneficiaries must relate to a legal problem or the resolution of a legal problem (i.e. progressing the case for a beneficiary, acting for a client in a homelessness or eviction case, appealing a refusal of benefits (after the initial application), applying for debt relief orders/insolvency, advising on immigration and asylum applications and appeals or employment rights or disputes).

 

Our definition of legal advice does not include, for example, making initial applications for benefits, assisting with general money management or debt management programmes (except where they arise as a result from threats from creditors), nor providing general advice on rights and obligations (i.e., advice on data access or leave entitlements etc.). We classify this as supporting access to legal advice.

2.2.1 Total Number of Legal Issues Handled

This relates to social welfare issues (e.g. Asylum, Community Care, Debt, Disability, Discrimination, Education, Employment, Family, Housing, Immigration, Mental health, Public and Administrative law, Welfare Benefits) which require legal advice to resolve. A beneficiary may come to your organisation with a number/cluster of legal issues all at once as they are often interlinked, therefore this total may be more than the number of Total Beneficiaries Served.

2.3.3 Client Experience and Effectiveness

  

How do you ensure the quality and efficacy of your online offering? Please give details of any feedback mechanisms you've implemented to understand user engagement and experience. Please summarise any key insight and how you are implementing this learning. 

 

(150 words maximum)

Please provide information on how beneficiaries arrive at your services to seek legal support by inputting the percentages for each pathway. If you identify another pathway, please specify in the ‘Other’ box.


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Record the number of beneficiaries in each category that you are able to record during the monitoring period. Count individuals in all categories that apply (e.g. someone who is marginalised as part of the Roma, Gypsy, Traveller community and experiencing poverty should appear in both rows). Use the “Other” row for any groups not otherwise listed, specifying which group(s) you have included. Please note that the sum of beneficiaries in this table may not equate to the number in 2.1 Total Beneficiaries Served

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2.6 Observations on Data
  • Explain any key trends in the demographic and communities data above. Consider observations related to under-representation of particular groups/communities, any groups/communities being seen for the first time or are returning and the service pathways that may be linked to these trends 
  • If applicable, explain any notable changes in client numbers or service types since the last reporting period, including any explanations for substantial increases or decreases observed in the data. 
  • Highlight any significant overlaps between demographic groups or legal issues e.g. clusters of legal issues experienced by a marginalised community/group. 
  • Note data gaps, external factors, or anomalies that may affect interpretation. 
  • Reflect on how ILTA’s multi-year core cost support may have contributed to these patterns or helped address any challenges.


(350 words maximum)

2.7 Strategies to Sustain or Expand Services and ILTA’s Role

 

How are you increasing access to legal advice for marginalised communities or groups?

 

Outline how you are identifying and engaging those most in need. Describe specific engagement methods (e.g. working with lived experience groups) and sources of insight you refer to about levels of legal need or deprivation in your area. Please tell us if and how these efforts enhance access for underserved groups/communities. How has funding supported these efforts to engage with communities and identify those in need?

 

(200 words maximum)

ILTA Outcome: More people from marginalised communities are empowered to identify, understand and resolve their legal problems.

3.1a Number of Clients Providing Feedback

 

How many clients completed your feedback survey, follow-up interviews, or provided any other form of feedback during this reporting period?

 

Please give your best estimate. This helps us understand the proportion of clients offering feedback. We understand that you will unlikely get an 100% response rate to requests for feedback. 

3.1b Client Feedback and Follow-Up

 

Outline 3 key points of learning from the feedback and how you plan to apply it in your work.

 

Explain how you plan to use the feedback and apply these insights to improve your services or address any issues raised by clients so that they may better support and empower marginalised groups with their legal issues.

 

(200 words maximum)

3.2 ILTA’s Contribution

 

Did ILTA’s support—through core-cost funding, funder plus, or other resources—contribute to the client empowerment outcomes described above, and/or help you improve your ability to measure client satisfaction and empowerment?

 

Consider if ILTA support enabled you to:

  • Develop or refine tools for gathering feedback or tracking long-term changes in client confidence/knowledge,
  • Allocate staff time or resources to conduct follow-up activities or surveys, or
  • Introduce new processes for analysing and learning from client feedback.
    Where possible, include concrete examples or anecdotes illustrating the link between ILTA assistance and these improvements.

 

(150 words maximum)

ILTA Outcome: Organisations are better able to demonstrate the difference they make to people’s lives. 

4.1 Number of Legal Issues Resolved at an Early Stage

 

Early-stage resolutions are those achieved before legal issues escalate to casework, formal court or tribunal processes, often through initial advice or mediation. If your organisation does not directly provide legal advice, mark “not applicable” if you cannot report on early-stage resolutions.

Describe confirmed outcomes during the reporting period, including the number of cases for each type of outcome and any financial settlements.

 

List outcome types (e.g. successful welfare benefits appeals, housing secured, debt write-off, financial gains) and note how many cases achieved against each of these. For financial gains, include the amount. 

4.3 Examples of Positive Outcomes

 

Provide specific examples, stories or a case study showing one or more of the following:

  • where early support prevented escalation or crisis and led to a favourable resolution
  • how beneficiaries gained knowledge, confidence, or independence through your services
  • meaningful, sustained changes for clients resulting from your intervention.

 

Explain the client’s situation, the type of early intervention offered, and how it prevented a worse outcome (e.g. eviction, increasing debt, welfare benefit sanctions, domestic abuse). Emphasise the role of timely support in achieving a stable resolution. Consider sharing instances where a client learned to advocate for their rights or independently navigate legal processes. Highlight the change in their skills or self-efficacy. Examples of sustained change may include improved well-being, financial stability, or housing security. If uploading a case study, detail the client’s situation before and after, focusing on the direct role your services played.

 

(300 words maximum)

ILTA Outcome: Organisations have more capacity to engage in influencing, partnerships and fundraising work, which helps them meet the needs of their communities. 

5.1 Community Partners and Impact on Communities

 

Describe your engagement with community partners or organisations and its impact on communities during this reporting period.

 

List key partners, the nature of collaboration (e.g. referrals, co-hosted events, joint advocacy, health justice partnership), and how frequently you engage. Highlight outcomes such as improved community legal knowledge or stronger referral networks or increased capacity to engage. Focus on how these partnerships enhance access to legal advice, strengthen community capacity, or empower individuals.

 

(150 words maximum)
5.2 Reflections on Reaching and Delivering Services to Marginalised Communities/Groups

Provide examples of any notable successes or lessons. Do you have a sense of the different models used or preferred by different communities? Be specific about the services, referrals, or outreach methods used. Highlight strategies that improved access for underrepresented groups, obstacles you faced (e.g., limited resources, communication barriers), and any adaptations or next steps that emerged. Where relevant, explain how ILTA’s support enabled you to develop or refine these strategies, address gaps, or strengthen community engagement.

ReReflect on your approaches to reaching and delivering services to marginalised communities or groups. What has been successful, and why?

 

(250 words maximum)

ReReflect on your approaches to reaching and delivering services to marginalised communities or groups. What hasn’t been successful, and why?

 

(250 words maximum)

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6.1 Staffing Changes

 

Have there been any staffing changes during this period (e.g., new hires, turnover, skill-building efforts)? What did these changes impact and in what ways did ILTA support help mitigate challenges?

 

Focus on how staff changes influenced your organisation’s capacity, sustainability, or strategic priorities, and highlight any direct or indirect role that ILTA support played.

 

  • Describe the reasons behind any notable staff changes
  • Explain how these changes affected service capacity, delivery quality, or your ability to meet demand.
  • If relevant, mention any steps taken to foster staff diversity or recruit individuals reflecting the communities you serve, and note whether ILTA support facilitated these steps.

 

(150 words maximum)

6.2  Leadership and Governance

 

Have there been any leadership or governance changes during this period, and how did these impact the organisation? In what ways did ILTA support (core funding or otherwise) influence or enable these changes?

 

Focus on how leadership and governance developments contribute to long-term organisational sustainability and the achievement of ILTA’s broader outcomes.

 

  • Note governance reforms, new board members, or leadership restructuring, emphasising how these shifts affected, positively or negatively, the organisation’s strategic direction or accountability.
  • Indicate any actions taken to ensure that leadership/governance is representative of the communities you serve.
  • Where relevant, describe the connection between ILTA’s support (e.g., leadership consultancy, multi-year funding for stable operations) and your ability to enact or sustain these changes.

 

(150 words maximum) 

6.3 Additional Feedback

 

Based on your recent experience delivering services, are there any challenges, barriers, or issues you think it would be helpful for the Access to Justice Foundation to be aware of?

 

(150 words maximum)

6.4 Additional Support

 

Are there particular areas where you would welcome additional support, resources, or shared learning through the Funded Partner Support Programme?

 

(150 words maximum)

7.1 Equity Learning Journey

 

Describe any changes to your organisation’s EDI initiatives, and their impact.

 

Focus on how your EDI efforts and learning activities have influenced practical changes or created a culture shift.

 

Outline what you are doing to embed equity, diversity, and inclusion in day-to-day operations—such as staff training, policy reviews, or data monitoring. Highlight any training or workshops you attended and how that learning shaped your organisation’s approach. Note any persistent challenges and what you plan to do next.

 

(150 words maximum)

8.1 Areas of Change

 

Rank how much ILTA support contributed to the following areas:

8.2 Overall Experience with The Access to Justice Foundation

 

Provide your score with the grant management process in the following aspects:

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Please complete an expenditure and forecast budget form covering the last yearly period April to March. 
1. STAFF COSTS (i.e. salaries and wages)
2. M&E COSTS (i.e. hiring staff to conduct MEL, implementing systems, data collection, data preparation)
3. PREMISES/RUNNING COSTS (i.e. rent, utilities, office supplies)
4. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT COSTS (i.e. training, staff development)
5. EQUIPMENT (i.e. laptops, monitors, printers)
6. SERVICE DELIVERY (incl. partnership arrangements, community engagement, outreach, digital/online)
7. OTHER EXPENDITURE (e.g. expenses, travel and transportation)

1. STAFF COSTS (i.e. salaries and wages)
2. M&E COSTS (i.e. hiring staff to conduct MEL, implementing systems, data collection, data preparation)
3. PREMISES/RUNNING COSTS (i.e. rent, utilities, office supplies)
4. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT COSTS (i.e. training, staff development)
5. EQUIPMENT (i.e. laptops, monitors, printers)
6. SERVICE DELIVERY (incl. partnership arrangements, community engagement, outreach, digital/online)
7. OTHER EXPENDITURE (e.g. expenses, travel and transportation)

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10.1 Review & Submit


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