Parliament’s Justice Committee has published a damning report, which finds that the Government has ‘limited access to justice for some of those who need legal aid the most.’ (1)
The Committee notes that many people, including immigration detainees, often have no choice but to represent themselves, and that ‘at least some people.. struggle to effectively present their cases, whether due to inarticulacy, poor education, lack of confidence, learning difficulties or other barriers.’(3)
The inquiry also found that ‘the exceptional cases funding scheme has not done the job parliament intended, protecting access to justice for the most vulnerable people in our society... the wrongful refusal of applications for exceptional cases funding may have resulted in miscarriages of justice.’ (5)
In relation to immigration detainees, the Committee notes with concern that the Government is ‘detaining people because they cannot access advice to resolve their cases.’(4) Bail for Immigration Detainees gave oral evidence to the Committee as part of their inquiry, and the report quotes our evidence in a number of places.
Sarah Campbell, Research and Policy Manager at Bail for Immigration Detainees, commented: ‘The legal aid cuts are having a devastating effect on detainees with immigration claims. Many detainees cannot read and write in English, or have limited education. They may have valid claims to remain in the UK, but without legal aid they can be put on a plane, even where this is unlawful.
‘Since the April 2013 legal aid cuts, we have dealt with a number of cases where parents have been deported without their children. Very often the courts do not have the information they need to take children’s welfare into account. ‘One father we dealt with in detention represented himself in his deportation appeal. He is illiterate. He told us that: “‘A lot of what [the Home Office] were saying wasn’t true, but I didn’t know what to say, how to challenge it. It didn’t take them long to reject my case.” This man was released on bail, but was unable to resolve his case because he could not access legal aid.
‘We fully support the Committee’s call for the Government to reform the exceptional cases funding scheme, so that it provides a meaningful safety net for people who are in desperate need of legal representation.’
Notes
(1) The House of Commons Justice Select Committee published its report Impact of changes to civil legal aid under Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on Thursday 12 March 2015. The press release which accompanies the report states that the civil legal aid cuts ‘failed to target help where needed’ and ‘limited access to justice for some of those who need legal aid the most.’
(2) Following the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, most immigration cases are no longer in the scope of legal aid funding. Legal aid remains available for asylum claims, subject to means and merits tests, but limitations on the availability of competent, publicly funded advice mean that in practice asylum seekers may not be able to find a competent representative – see for example Asylum Aid (2012) Justice at Risk: quality and value for money in asylum legal aid
(3) Justice Select Committee (2015) Impact of changes to civil legal aid under Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, HC 311 Eighth Report of Session 2014-15, paragraph 98
(4) ibid: paragraph 164(5) ibid: paragraph 45
