Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of legal aid provision for immigration cases.

Legal aid is available for asylum cases, for immigration matters for victims of domestic abuse and modern slavery, for separated migrant children and for immigration detention cases.

Once commenced, individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) will have access to merits and means free legal advice in relation to the removal notice.

We have taken action to increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases, by:

• Setting fees for IMA work at 15% above the usual hourly rate;

• Providing up to £1.4 million of funding in 2024 for accreditation and re-accreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work;

• Allowing Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS) providers to give guidance remotely, at the discretion of providers and subject to their professional judgement and their obligations towards vulnerable persons; and

• Introducing payment for travel time between Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) and DDAS surgeries.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors supply across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action within its operational powers to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services.

The LAA regularly engages with provider representative groups, including on the provision of immigration and asylum services, via forums such as the Civil Contract Consultative Group.

The ongoing Review of Civil Legal Aid is considering the broader economic context of the civil legal aid market as a whole, including for immigration cases, so that it can operate sustainably in the long-term; the Green Paper consultation is expected in July 2024.