Chang, Y-S; (2016) The mechanisms and rationale for integrated publicly-funded legal services: a comparative study of England and Wales, Australia and Taiwan. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

Abstract

Over the last decade, the importance of integrated publicly-funded legal services has been highlighted internationally. However, an overview of the mechanisms that characterise current service integration is still lacking. Furthermore, beyond individual case studies, motivations and reasoning behind service integration and the facilitators of/ barriers to it also require systematic investigation. The thesis addresses integrated service mechanisms employed by publicly-funded legal service providers in three jurisdictions — England and Wales, Australia and Taiwan. These are jurisdictions with very different publicly-funded legal services systems, policy environments, service histories and traditions, and paths of development. Through 54 in-depth qualitative interviews carried out across the three jurisdictions, the thesis (i) sets out the participants, services involved, service delivery processes and features of current integrated services provision mechanisms, (ii) assesses the extent of connectivity and integration of existing mechanisms, (iii) investigates the rationales of participants to deliver integrated services, (iv) identifies factors which facilitate/hinder integrated service provision, (v) compares and analyses the similarities and differences between different jurisdictions, (vi) assesses the application of different theories of integration to the integrated services identified, and (vii) sets out the research and policy implications of the empirical findings. The findings reveal certain similarities across the three jurisdictions―similar mechanisms employed; similar advantages for clients, professional individuals, service providers, funders and the system identified; and similar facilitators and barriers revealed at personal, professional, organisational and policy levels. However, the thesis also finds that the different systems and institutional environments significantly impact on the scope and level of service integration in the three jurisdictions. While the findings confirm the complexity and uncertainty of publicly-funded legal services, it is suggested that governance emphasising relationships and trust between parties and allowing flexibility appear to better promote and support service integration than market governance.

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