Is this the Final Cut - Legal Aid for Asylum Applicants to be Capped

     Legal Aid for asylum applicants could be cut back by as much as 85% if the Home Office have their way.

     UNHCR Handbook: “190. It should be recalled that an applicant for refugee status is normally in a particularly vulnerable situation. He finds himself in an alien environment and may experience serious difficulties, technical and psychological, in submitting his case to the authorities of a foreign country, often in a language not his own. His application should therefore be examined within the framework of specially established procedures by qualified personnel having the necessary knowledge and experience, and an understanding of an applicant’s particular difficulties and needs”

     The Lord Chancellor's Department issued a consultation document, 'Proposed Changes to Publicly Funded Immigration and Asylum Work' in June of this year.

     The paper sets out proposed drastic reductions in funding arrangements for immigration and asylum cases, to take effect from 1st January 2004:

* A maximum of 5 hours legal assistance to prepare and lodge an asylum claim
* A maximum of 4 hours legal assistance to prepare an asylum appeal
* A maximum of 3 hours legal assistance to prepare an immigration application
* Capped limits on disbursements (for interpreters/medical/country reports)
* Limit to 3 hours the number of hours' work in non-asylum cases prior to an initial decision
* Not guaranteed that within the maximum fee scheme a representative will be able to claim the costs of attending with the client at either a screening or substantive interview.
* Maximum fee for representatives' and interpreters' costs at the adjudicator stage
* Maximum fee for applying for leave to appeal to the Tribunal will be limited to £150.00
 * There are no exceptions to allow for additional hours to be allocated.

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  What impact will the proposals for maximum limits have on solicitors, charities and the voluntary sector?

     The quota will apply to the client. Once ‘used up’, the client will not be entitled to further publicly-funded legal representation and will be left to pay privately or left to represent him/herself and any dependants – regardless of the stage of the application/appeal; regardless of the merits and regardless of any particular compassionate/compelling features of the case.

     The proposals will seriously affect the access to legal advice and assistance of one of the most vulnerable groups in society.

      The proposals will seriously limit the availability of expert advice in the field of immigration and asylum law by driving out the most experienced practitioners.
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     The consultation paper is aimed at both professionals and members of the public in England and Wales. the Lord Chancellor's Department invite anyone to comment on the proposals by responding to the questions set out in the consultation paper.

      The consultation document, 'Proposed Changes to Publicly Funded Immigration and Asylum Work' is downloadable from NCADC:    LordChancellors.doc
  
      Make Your Views Known – Reply to the Consultation