Hourly fees for legal aid work arising from the Illegal Migration Act are to rise by 15%, the government has confirmed. However, lawyers say the limited pay rise to ‘bolster capacity’ is not enough to support a dwindling provider base.
In a government consultation response published last week, justice minister Lord Bellamy KC said the higher fee for removal notice work was a ‘meaningful step forward, representing an increase in remuneration and fair recognition of the expectations the Illegal Migration Act puts on practitioners’.
Law Society president Lubna Shuja said it was positive to see the government recognise the severe financial pressures facing firms that provide immigration and asylum legal aid.
However, she added: ‘There is a huge backlog of asylum cases and simply not enough lawyers to take them on. Many asylum seekers are dispersed to areas where there is no legal aid provider. Those facing removal have just eight days to secure legal advice and bring a suspensive claim. If they are detained in offshore barges or in an immigration legal aid desert, the chances of them being able to access a lawyer are low.
‘We maintain that there is no substitute for funding the work consistently at sustainable rates. However, the additional measures outlined in the response would be a step in the right direction. We look forward to engaging with the Ministry of Justice on how these might be implemented.’
Emma Vincent Miller, a lawyer at Public Law Project, said the fee increase for Illegal Migration Act work alone ‘represents the worst of sticking-plaster policy-making’ and will create ‘perverse incentives’ for lawyers to do Illegal Migration Act work to the detriment of other work, such as assisting clients with initial asylum claims in the backlog.
According to Public Law Project’s report, An ocean of unmet need, charities supporting refugees and asylum seekers make on average 16 attempts before securing a legal aid lawyer.
Vincent Miller said: ‘As legal aid rates have not increased since 1996 – that’s 27 years ago - a 15% increase is insufficient. The Ministry of Justice should now urgently increase fees across the board for all immigration legal aid work and invest in a dwindling provider base crippled by years of underfunding.’
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