Hearings delayed up to nine months as 'current flow' of appeals pushes listings back
The Law Society Gazette reported yesterday that immigration appeal hearings are being delayed by up to nine months as courts struggle to deal with a mounting workload.
A courts service chief is said to have called the delays "unacceptable".
Image credit: UK GovernmentA spokeswoman for HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) told the Law Society Gazette that while the volume of new hearings has fallen since July 2014, the 'current flow' of appeals has pushed listings back.
"We are preparing to put additional court time in place between April and July 2016 to make sure waiting times do not increase," the spokeswoman said.
The Law Society Gazette says that HMCTS is currently giving priority to the most urgent cases, such as those involving children or detention, while cases involving deportation and spouse/partner appeals from abroad receive the least priority.
ILPA's Alison Harvey told the Law Society Gazette that there is now a serious problem with substantive hearings being adjourned or postponed and that the delays were causing distress and anxiety for clients, their family members and their employers.
Garden Court Chambers' Colin Yeo was quoted as saying that the delays seemed to be part of the government's desired 'hostile environment' for immigrants and that lawful migrants and their British families were "collateral damage" of the policy.