Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Immigration: Legal Aid

Tuesday 14 May 2024 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Department has uplifted fees under the Illegal Migration Act 2023 to address civil legal aid concerns.
  • 25 million is being added through a means test review, bringing an additional 2 million into legal aid scope.
  • A housing loss prevention advice service is being expanded with 10 million in funding, bringing the total legal aid funding to 141 million.

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Questions & Answers

Q1 Steven Bonnar
Immigration Justice & Courts
Context

The adequacy of legal aid for immigration cases is under scrutiny due to concerns raised by the Bar Council regarding sustainability and availability.

Question

What recent assessment has his Department made of the adequacy of legal aid provision for immigration cases? The Bar Council has submitted grave concerns citing that civil legal aid fees have halved in real terms over 28 years, raising issues about the future availability of counsel in immigration cases.

Answer from Alex Chalk

Access to legal aid matters. We have broadened access by: uplifting fees under the Illegal Migration Act 2023, providing £1.4 million for accreditation and re-accreditation of senior caseworkers, allowing remote guidance from detained duty advice scheme providers, and introducing payment for travel time between immigration removal centres.

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Q2 Steven Bonnar
Immigration Justice & Courts Housing
Context

The Bar Council has expressed grave concerns about the future availability of civil legal aid counsel in immigration cases, citing unsustainable real-term fee reductions over 28 years.

Question

The Bar Council has raised significant concerns about the future sustainability of civil legal aid. They note that fees have halved in real terms over 28 years and question whether justice is now exclusively for the wealthy. What steps are being taken to ensure the future of legal aid in immigration cases?

Answer from Alex Chalk

We are broadening access to legal aid through a means test review that will add £25 million and bring an additional £2 million into scope. The housing loss prevention advice service is being rolled out with another £10 million, totalling up to £141 million in legal aid funding. A Green Paper on civil legal aid sustainability will be issued in July.

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