Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) children under 18- years of age and (b) young people aged 18 to 24-years old received legal aid funding for immigration cases in each year since 2009-10.
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2013 was introduced under the Coalition Government and took effect in April 2013. Section 10 of the Act provided for the Exceptional Case Funding scheme, to address those cases which would not ordinarily be eligible for legal aid under the post-LASPO regime, but where an individual’s Convention rights would be breached in the absence of having funded representation.
Applications to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme for immigration matters, by age of applicant, April 2013 to March 2016
FY application received | Under 18 | 18-24 |
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Apr 2013 - Mar 2014 | 0 | 12 |
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Apr 2014 - Mar 2015 | 14 | 39 |
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Apr 2015 - Mar 2016 | 15 | 59 |
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Applications to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme for immigration matters, which were granted2, by age of applicant, April 2013 to March 2016
FY application received | Under 18 | 18-24 |
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Apr 2013 - Mar 2014 | 0 | 0 |
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Apr 2014 - Mar 2015 | 4 | 8 |
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Apr 2015 - Mar 2016 | 12 | 40 |
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As the ECF scheme has developed, providers have familiarised themselves with the legislative framework, which has also been clarified by various judgements during this time. This has led to an increase in the volume of successful applications.
The Legal Aid Agency publishes data on an annual basis which shows uptake broken down by age group including children under 18 and young people. Data covering up to and including the financial year 2015/16 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/533053/legal-aid-statistics-england-and-wales-client-diversity-data.csv. Data covering the following financial year will be published on 30 June 2017.
Legal help/controlled legal representation completed matters and civil representation certificates closed1 for immigration matters, by age of applicant, April 2009 to March 2016
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Period | Under 18 | 18-24 |
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Apr 2009 - Mar 2010 | 12,187 | 24,366 |
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Apr 2010 - Mar 2011 | 13,129 | 23,586 |
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Apr 2011 - Mar 2012 | 8,137 | 15,331 |
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Apr 2012 - Mar 2013 | 5,175 | 12,268 |
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Apr 2013 - Mar 2014 | 4,050 | 9,883 |
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Apr 2014 - Mar 2015 | 4,479 | 8,947 |
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Apr 2015 - Mar 2016 | 4,876 | 9,508 |
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1Includes some instances where a proportion of the costs are met by the opponent
The LASPO Act removed some types of immigration cases from the scope of the legal aid scheme, reflecting the decrease in volumes since its inception in April 2013. Matters closed in the periods shown above will not necessarily have commenced in the same period.
Legal help/controlled legal representation completed matters and civil representation certificates closed1 for immigration matters, by age of applicant, April 2009 to March 2016
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Period | Under 18 | 18-24 | Unknown |
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Apr 2009 - Mar 2010 | 12,187 | 24,366 | 2,955 |
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Apr 2010 - Mar 2011 | 13,129 | 23,586 | 1,526 |
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Apr 2011 - Mar 2012 | 8,137 | 15,331 | 1,120 |
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Apr 2012 - Mar 2013 | 5,175 | 12,268 | 1,110 |
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Apr 2013 - Mar 2014 | 4,050 | 9,883 | 1,313 |
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Apr 2014 - Mar 2015 | 4,479 | 8,947 | 1,443 |
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Apr 2015 - Mar 2016 | 4,876 | 9,508 | 1,552 |
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1Includes some instances where a proportion of the costs are met by the opponent
The LASPO Act removed some types of immigration cases from the scope of the legal aid scheme, reflecting the decrease in volumes since its inception in April 2013. Matters closed in the periods shown above will not necessarily have commenced in the same period.