Improving Lives Through Advice (ILTA) Programme 2024-29 Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Form

Introduction

Please submit your form by 12pm on Thursday 30 April 2026. If you would like this form or to submit in an alternative format, please contact us at grants@atjf.org.uk

Note: 

(1) While filling in this online form, please ensure that all mandatory (starred *) fields are completed.

(2) It is recommended that you continually save your data whenever you make a change, to avoid losing your data. Click SAVE to ensure your data is not lost. To resume form filling, please open the link automatically sent to you when you saved your form and provide the credentials as requested i.e. your email address and password used in the form.

(3) When you have completed the form and are ready to submit, you must click the SUBMIT button on the last page.

(4) Please note that changes or amendments cannot be made once your form has been submitted.

Section 1: Your Details

Organisation Information

1.1 Organisation Name

1.2 Contact Details

1.2.1 Contact First Name

1.2.2 Contact Last Name

1.2.3 Contact Email Address

Section 2: Sustainability, Reach, and Breadth of Support to Legal Advice Services

ILTA Outcome: Advice to people from marginalised communities is sustained and improved

2.1 Total Unique Clients Served

Enter the number of clients supported in each category. Use “Number of Unique Clients Accessing Legal Advice” for those you directly advised, and “Number of Unique Clients Supported to Access Legal Advice” for those who were referred to other services i.e. referring to another organisation for legal advice, referred to online resources etc.

2.1.1 Number of Unique Clients Accessing Legal Advice

2.1.2 Number of Unique Clients Supported to Access Legal Advice

Total Unique Clients

2.2 Legal Advice

2.2.1 Does your organisation provide legal advice to clients?

The legal advice provided to clients must relate to a legal problem or the resolution of a legal problem (i.e. progressing the case for a client, 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.

2.2.2 Total Number of Legal Advice Issues

This relates to social welfare issues which require legal advice to resolve. A client may come to your organisation with a number/cluster of legal issues therefore this total may be more than the number of Total Clients Served. If providing advice sessions to a group, count each legal advice issue for each client.

2.3 Online Service Delivery

2.3.1 Does your organisation provide legal advice or support through any online channels (e.g., self-help portal, website resources)?

2.3.2 How many unique clients accessed your interactive online services (e.g., live chat, video calls, interactive webinars) during this reporting period?

2.3.3 How many unique clients have accessed or downloaded your non-interactive online or self-help resources (e.g., self-help web pages, downloadable legal guides, FAQ pages, online toolkits) during this reporting period?

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

150 words maximum

2.4 Pathways into Services

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

2.4.1 Self Referral %

2.4.2 Referral by other organisation %

i.e. foodbank, community centre, grassroots organisation, faith-based organisation

2.4.3 Referral by statutory services %

(i.e. Local Authority departments such as housing, social care)

2.4.5 Other %

Total (must equals 100)

Percentages must total 100%

2.5 Demographic Data

Record the number of clients in each category for this reporting period.

2.5.1 Gender

Do you consistently collect data on the gender of your clients?

If “No”, still provide the data that you have

Male

Female

Other

Prefer not to say

Total Unique Clients minus Gender Totals

The total number of clients can not be greater than Total Unique Clients from top of this page

2.5.2 Age

Do you consistently collect data on the age of your clients?

If “No”, still provide the data that you have

16-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65-74

75 Plus

Prefer not to say

Total Unique Clients minus Age Totals

The total number of clients can not be greater than Total Unique Clients from top of this page

2.5.3 Disability

Do you consistently collect data on whether clients have a disability ?

If “No”, still provide the data that you have

No disability

Mental health

Physical disability

Cognitive disability

Sensory disability

Other

Prefer not to say

2.5.4 Ethnicity

Do you consistently collect data about the ethnicity of your clients?

If “No”, still provide the data that you have

Asian

Black

White

Mixed Race

Other

Prefer not to say

Total Unique Clients minus Ethnicity Totals

The total number of clients can not be greater than Total Unique Clients from top of this page

Observations on Data

Explain any key trends in the data across the whole of section 2, including any substantial increases or decreases.
If you do not collect this data please tell us why.
Note data gaps, external factors, or anomalies that may affect interpretation.

2.6 Observations

200 words maximum

Strategies to Sustain or Expand Services and ILTA’s Role

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 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?

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

200 words maximum

Section 3: Client Empowerment, Satisfaction, and Long-Term Impact

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

Number of Clients Providing Feedback

3.1 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.

Client Feedback and Follow-Up

3.2 Identify up to three key insights from client feedback and describe what changes (if any) you have made or plan to make as a result.

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 communities with their legal issues. Client Feedback and Follow-Up. 150 words maximum.

ILTA’s Contribution

3.3 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. 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.

Section 4: Resolution of Legal Issues and Client Outcomes

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

Legal Issues Resolved

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, leave this question blank.

4.1 Number of Legal Issues Resolved at an Early Stage

4.2 Total financial gains achieved for clients during this reporting period?

£

Client Outcomes

Provide a story or case study showing one or more of the following:

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

Explain 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.

Examples of sustained change may include improved well-being, financial stability, or housing security.

If providing a case study, detail the client’s situation before and after, focusing on the direct role your services played. Quotes can also be included.

4.3.1 Case Study/Story

200 words maximum

4.3.1 Case Study/Story Area of Law

4.3.2 Case Study/Story Financial Gains Secured

£

Section 5: Community Engagement, Partnerships and Influencing

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

Community Partners and Impact on Communities

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

Detail the nature of the collaboration (e.g. referrals, co-hosted events, joint advocacy, health justice partnership), and 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 What’s working and what’s been a challenge when reaching and delivering services to underserved communities?

Reflect on your approaches to reaching and delivering services to marginalised communities or groups. What has been successful, and why?Reflect on your approaches to reaching and delivering services to marginalised communities or groups. What hasn’t been successful, and why? Where relevant, explain how ILTA funding and support has enabled this. 250 words maximum.

Section 6 : Staffing, Service Delivery, Leadership, and Governance

Staffing Changes

6.1 If there have been any staffing changes during this period, describe them and their impact?

Describe the reasons behind any notable staff changes (e.g., new hires, turnover, promotion) 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. 150 words maximum.

Leaderships and Governance

6.2 Have there been any leadership or governance changes during this period, and how did these impact the organisation?

Focus on how these contribute to long-term organisational sustainability and progress towards ILTA outcomes. Indicate any actions taken to ensure that leadership/governance is representative of the communities you serve. In what ways did ILTA support (funding or support) influence or enable these changes? 150 words maximum.

Organisational Challenges or Risks

6.3 Are there any organisational challenges or risks (not mentioned above) that it would be helpful for the Access to Justice Foundation to be aware of?

150 words maximum

Addtional Support

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

150 words maximum

Section 7 : EDI Improvements

7.1 Describe progress your organisation is making towards Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and the impact of these.

This could be staff training, engagement or changes to policy or process.(150 words maximum)

Section 8 : ILTA Support and Feedback

8.1 Areas of Change

How much has the ILTA funding & support programme contributed to each of the following areas of your organisation? Rate each on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = significant contribution and 5= no contribution

8.1.1 Service Reach (especially to marginalised communities)

8.1.2 New/Enhanced Partnerships

8.1.3 Staff Capacity and Development

8.1.4 Organisational Leadership or Governance

8.1.5 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

8.2 Overall Experience with The Access to Justice Foundation

Rate your experience with us for each of the following, where 1 = Needs Improvement, 2 = Satisfied and 3 = Very Satisfied

8.2.1 Communications from The Access to Justice Foundation

8.2.2 Timeliness of Payments

8.2.3 Grant Management Support (i.e. interaction, approachability)

8.2.4 Accessibility

8.3 Additional Comments/Suggestions. Any additional feedback or suggestions.

150 words maximum

Section 9 : Expenditure and Forecast Budget

9.1 Expenditure April 2025 to March 2026

9.1.1 Staff Costs (i.e. salaries and wages)

£

9.1.2 Fundraising Costs (i.e. platform fees, writing bids, travel and events)

£

9.1.3 Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (i.e. MEL consultants, implementing systems, data collection, reporting)

£

9.1.4 Office and Administration (i.e. rent, utilities, office supplies, equipment)

£

9.1.5 Training & Development Costs (i.e. training, staff development)

£

9.1.6 Any Other Exenditure

£

Total

£

Expenditure Comments

Please tell us if there have been any significant changes in how the funding has been spent, since the previous forecast budget or any financial challenges during the period?

9.2 Forecast Budget April 2026 to March 2027

9.2.1 Staff Costs (i.e. salaries and wages)

£

9.2.2 Fundraising Costs (i.e. platform fees, writing bids, travel and events)

£

9.2.3 Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (i.e. MEL consultants, implementing systems, data collection, reporting)

£

9.2.4 Office and Administration (i.e. rent, utilities, office supplies, equipment)

£

9.2.5 Training & Development Costs (i.e. training, staff development)

£

9.2.6 Any Other Exenditure

£

Total

£

Forecast Comments

Section 10: Confirmation of Submission and your Data

Sharing your data and information

The Access to Justice Foundation will electronically hold and process personal data about you for the purposes of assessing and managing the grant programme. We will use the information you give us to assess applications, monitor grants and evaluate the programme.

The Access to Justice Foundation may share the information you submit with funders and researchers with a legitimate interest, and with relevant umbrella bodies for due diligence and research purposes.

We may also give copies of this information to individuals and organisations such as:

Primary funders, accountants, auditors, external evaluators or learning partners
Other organisations involved in the prevention and detection of fraud

The Access to Justice Foundation will keep information on successful applications for 7 years after the final delivery date. We will keep information on unsuccessful applications for 7 years after you have been notified of the application outcome.

Your privacy is important to The Access to Justice Foundation. For more information about how we use your personal data, please read our Privacy Policy.

Please confirm below that you acknowledge The Access to Justice Foundation will process your data for the purposes outlined above.

Important

Once you have completed your submission, please click SUBMIT. You must carefully review your submission on the next page and click CONFIRM to finalise your submission. We are unable to accept amendments to your submission after that point. Once submitted, a submission message will appear and a copy of your submission will be sent to you.