A report by the University of Bristol has recommended guidance and training for lawyers to better understand the needs of clients with learning difficulties.

Undertaken on behalf of the Legal Services Board, the Legal Services Consumer Panel and the learning disability charity Mencap, the research involved 90 people with learning disabilities and interviews with 26 family carers and nine legal services professionals.

The report praises the ability of some solicitors to understand the support and communications needs of people with a learning disability but highlights tailored training and guidance would improve the experience for many clients with learning disabilities.

Among the key findings of the research were:

• People with learning disabilities have a wide range of potential legal needs. Common issues include parents with learning disabilities fighting to keep care of their children, discrimination in the workplace, disputed benefit claims, and experiencing bullying and hate crime.

• People with learning disabilities are unclear how legal services could help them and rely on people close to them for support. Family carers mostly rely on the internet, learning disability charities and support groups for help rather than go to a lawyer, which is seen as a last resort measure.

• There is difficulty finding specialist advice and people worry that legal aid changes and funding cuts to Citizens Advice Bureaux could make this worse.

• A lack of accessible advice and information is preventing people with learning disabilities from dealing with legal issues effectively. The research highlighted the positive effects of getting the right legal advice: relief, improved quality of life and a sense of empowerment.

• Some lawyers are skilled in working with people with learning disabilities and adapt their practices to meet the needs of their clients. However, there were also examples where lawyers could not be understood, appeared uninterested or were not able to signpost clients to the right specialist support.

Chris Kenny, chief executive of the Legal Services Board, said: “People with learning disabilities often need access to justice more than other people, but often have far more difficulty in accessing services.

“This research shows that a range of good practice exists, but that too often lawyers are uncertain how to communicate with people with learning disabilities and lack the knowledge themselves of where to get specialist support.

“There is a real opportunity for professional and third-sector bodies to work together to redress this gap by producing practical guidance to help bring all services up to the level of the best.”

Alongside publication of the research on 29 July the Legal Services Board has written to the legal sector’s professional bodies asking them to consider developing guidelines for all lawyers.

The Legal Services Board has also incorporated a British Standard (BS18477) relating to vulnerable clients into its policy toolkit and is writing to the approved regulators to invite them to demonstrate how they have incorporated the standard into their work. Last year the Legal Services Consumer Panel wrote to the LSB and a range of organisations in the sector urging them to adopt the Standard.

Mencap will develop ‘easy read’ materials on choosing legal services designed to support people with learning disabilities

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme, incoming chair of the Law Society's Mental Health and Disability Committee Sophy Miles welcomed the report and discussed what needs to happen next.

The report found the difficulties faced by people with learning disabilities are not confined to the legal industry; other professional services and government agencies also need to adapt their service to the specific needs of people with a learning disability.