Found: In any case, the specialist asylum Appeals Body will hear cases afresh.

Found: migration • Total number of people resettled under safe and legal resettlement schemes • Number of asylum

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to (1) cap, or (2) curtail, multiple appeals from the same asylum seeker.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

There are no plans to change the rules regulating multiple appeals. An asylum seeker who has already appealed cannot appeal again unless they make further submissions which amount to a fresh claim. There will only be a fresh claim if the further submissions have not previously been considered and, taken together with the previously considered material, created a realistic prospect of success at appeal, even though the asylum claim is being refused. Where this test is not met, the further submissions are rejected and cannot be appealed.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of the number and proportion of asylum seekers that have not had access to a local immigration and asylum legal aid provider in the last 12 months.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The commissioning and monitoring of civil legal aid services are done by Procurement Area rather than by individual town or city, with Procurement Areas differing for different categories of law. The commissioning standard is to have at least one immigration provider per Procurement Area. Coventry falls within the Midlands and East of England Procurement Area. There are currently 45 immigration and asylum providers operating out of 55 offices within this procurement area. Information about number of legal aid offices undertaking work, broken down by region, legal aid scheme and category of law are published as part of the Legal Aid Agency (LAA)’s official statistics [see tables 9.1-9.8].

The LAA recently tendered for new contracts that will start on 1 September 2024 and is in the process of assessing the bids. There will also be a further tender opportunity commencing on 18 March. These procurement exercises provide opportunities for new providers to obtain a contract to deliver legal aid services and existing contract holders to deliver additional services in other categories of law with a view to maximising available provision.

Across England and Wales, we have taken a number of steps to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases. For example, we are providing up to £1.4 million of funding in 2024 for accreditation and reaccreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work.

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.

The Ministry of Justice does not have data on the number and proportion of asylum seekers that have not had access to a local immigration and asylum legal aid provider in the last 12 months. At a national level, the LAA monitors capacity across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action 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 Ministry of Justice has not made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of immigration and asylum legal aid provision on the success rate of asylum appeals in Coventry in the last 12 months. We do publish data on tribunal outcomes as a part of the published statistics – see tab FIA3 in the main tables (Tribunals statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of immigration and asylum legal aid provision on the success rate of asylum appeals in Coventry in the last 12 months.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The commissioning and monitoring of civil legal aid services are done by Procurement Area rather than by individual town or city, with Procurement Areas differing for different categories of law. The commissioning standard is to have at least one immigration provider per Procurement Area. Coventry falls within the Midlands and East of England Procurement Area. There are currently 45 immigration and asylum providers operating out of 55 offices within this procurement area. Information about number of legal aid offices undertaking work, broken down by region, legal aid scheme and category of law are published as part of the Legal Aid Agency (LAA)’s official statistics [see tables 9.1-9.8].

The LAA recently tendered for new contracts that will start on 1 September 2024 and is in the process of assessing the bids. There will also be a further tender opportunity commencing on 18 March. These procurement exercises provide opportunities for new providers to obtain a contract to deliver legal aid services and existing contract holders to deliver additional services in other categories of law with a view to maximising available provision.

Across England and Wales, we have taken a number of steps to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases. For example, we are providing up to £1.4 million of funding in 2024 for accreditation and reaccreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work.

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.

The Ministry of Justice does not have data on the number and proportion of asylum seekers that have not had access to a local immigration and asylum legal aid provider in the last 12 months. At a national level, the LAA monitors capacity across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action 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 Ministry of Justice has not made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of immigration and asylum legal aid provision on the success rate of asylum appeals in Coventry in the last 12 months. We do publish data on tribunal outcomes as a part of the published statistics – see tab FIA3 in the main tables (Tribunals statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help increase access to legal aid for immigration cases in Coventry.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The commissioning and monitoring of civil legal aid services are done by Procurement Area rather than by individual town or city, with Procurement Areas differing for different categories of law. The commissioning standard is to have at least one immigration provider per Procurement Area. Coventry falls within the Midlands and East of England Procurement Area. There are currently 45 immigration and asylum providers operating out of 55 offices within this procurement area. Information about number of legal aid offices undertaking work, broken down by region, legal aid scheme and category of law are published as part of the Legal Aid Agency (LAA)’s official statistics [see tables 9.1-9.8].

The LAA recently tendered for new contracts that will start on 1 September 2024 and is in the process of assessing the bids. There will also be a further tender opportunity commencing on 18 March. These procurement exercises provide opportunities for new providers to obtain a contract to deliver legal aid services and existing contract holders to deliver additional services in other categories of law with a view to maximising available provision.

Across England and Wales, we have taken a number of steps to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases. For example, we are providing up to £1.4 million of funding in 2024 for accreditation and reaccreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work.

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.

The Ministry of Justice does not have data on the number and proportion of asylum seekers that have not had access to a local immigration and asylum legal aid provider in the last 12 months. At a national level, the LAA monitors capacity across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action 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 Ministry of Justice has not made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of immigration and asylum legal aid provision on the success rate of asylum appeals in Coventry in the last 12 months. We do publish data on tribunal outcomes as a part of the published statistics – see tab FIA3 in the main tables (Tribunals statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much of their legal aid budget is spent on asylum seekers’ appeals, in (1) percentage, and (2) gross, terms.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Funding for legal aid is on a demand led basis, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) does not have a specific budget allocation for delivery of legal aid services in relation to specific categories of law. The table below sets out the total expenditure, on a closed case basis, in relation to asylum seekers’ appeals in gross terms and as a percentage of overall legal aid expenditure for the last 10 years.

Legal aid is generally available for asylum cases, including appeals, under paragraph 30 of Schedule 1, Part 1 Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO). However, not all cases will qualify for legal aid as eligibility is subject to an assessment of legal merits of the case and of the applicant’s financial resources.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the asylum seekers' appeal system is not intentionally undermined, with the result that rejected applications are subsequently accepted.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Where a person has been refused asylum and makes further submissions, there will only be a right of appeal if the further submissions amount to a fresh claim. There will be a fresh claim only if the further submissions have not previously been considered and, taken together with the previously considered material, created a realistic prospect of success. In the vast majority of cases where there is a right of appeal, the Home Office is represented by Presenting Officers who are specially trained on immigration law and practice, including cross-examination, to ensure any credibility issues are raised before the tribunal, and that decisions are robustly defended at appeal where it is right to do so.

Found: There is N o precedent for asylum appeals at the High Court. 19 In litigation around

Found: strengthened its end-to-end asylum system through its own new legislation and created a specialist asylum

Found: Treaty, Rwanda has also introduced a strengthened end-to-end asylum system, including a new, specialist asylum

Found: their own new domestic asylum legislation, which they passed on 19 April; • introducing a specialist asylum

Found: FIA_1 5 In addition to Asylum appeals, this column includes appeals relating to Protection and Revocation

Found: Index Additional data on Detained Immigration and Asylum Appeals in Immigration Removal Centres and

Found: appeals, this column includes appeals relating to Protection and Revocation of Protection which were