The future of the Legal Service Commission’s new immigration and asylum contract could be in doubt after the High Court gave South Manchester Law Centre (SMLC) permission to challenge the outcome of the tender process.

The law centre challenged the lawfulness of the tender process in relation to the caseworker accreditation criteria and the notice given to applicant firms of the requirement for caseworkers to be accredited.

Lord Justice Keith yesterday ruled that the two elements were potentially unlawful and listed the case for a full judicial review hearing.

The outcome of the immigration and asylum procurement process in Greater Manchester resulted in 80% of the case allocation being given to one organisation, while other providers, South Manchester Law Centre included, received contracts that are too small to be financially viable.

A spokesperson for SMLC said: ‘We are delighted with this result especially given that the LSC, at public expense, sent one of the country’s leading QCs from London to argue their case. For a small community-based organisation such as ours to win in the High Court is a substantial achievement.’

The case is expected to be listed in the first week of December. The new immigration and asylum contracts are due to begin next Monday.