New research presents a small-scale snapshot of the depth of the legal aid crisis in south-west England
A new report was published by the Public Law Project (PLP) yesterday detailing the continuing lack of legal aid for immigration and asylum in the South West of England.
Image credit: UK GovernmentThe 17-page report, Access to immigration legal aid in south-west England, 2024: New depths of an ocean of unmet need?, can be downloaded here.
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) acknowledged the challenges in the South West and attempted to mitigate them by publishing a directory of legal aid providers located outside the region who could potentially offer remote immigration and asylum advice. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach, PLP conducted research into the operation of the directory, focusing on its capacity to address the severe shortage of legal aid providers in the area and its overall functionality in supporting sector sustainability.
PLP found the LAA's approach had created what it called a 'mirage' of capacity in the region rather than a genuine increase.
In the six-month period examined by PLP (February to August 2024), there was a consistent trend of limited provider capacity in the South West, especially for asylum appeals. At no point did 50% or more of the listed providers report capacity. On average, 20% of providers had capacity but were unable to handle asylum appeals, while only 11% had capacity that included asylum appeals. Among the 23 providers consistently listed in the directory, 30% generally reported no capacity, while 35% indicated some availability but often needed to prioritise existing local clients on their waiting lists.
PLP explained: "This represents something of a 'mirage' of capacity – on the face of the directory, it looks like there are a range of providers able to take on cases, but digging into providers' actual capacity reveals it to often be non-existent, particularly if you dig further into their capacity for asylum appeals."
Following new civil legal aid contracts in October 2024, two immigration legal aid providers entered and two providers exited the South West. While the total number of providers remains unchanged, the two new entrants brought 1,150 nominal matter starts, increasing the area's allocation by 93%. PLP notes, however, that this is unlikely to equate to a real 93% boost in capacity. One of the new providers, which now accounts for 40% of the region's nominal capacity, operates primarily from co-working spaces and has been reported as often unresponsive by support organisations.
PLP said in concluding: "The research presented here offers a small-scale snapshot of the depth of the legal aid crisis in one area of the UK that the LAA has recognised experiences particular difficulties in immigration legal aid provision. But it also speaks to the nation-wide crisis and connectedness of the issues that have precipitated it; the reason that shifting capacity from other parts of the UK to the south-west has not generated sufficient additional capacity is because there is a sector wide collapse in provider capacity. Across the six-month period of data collection, there was a consistent trend of limited provider capacity, particularly for asylum appeals. Chipping away at the surface of potential provider capacity has therefore revealed new depths of unmet legal need in south-west England."
The report does acknowledge the Government's recent announcement of significant fee increases for immigration legal aid, and PLP highlights an opportunity for more meaningful progress in the coming year, provided the Government also tackles the long-term structural challenges facing the legal aid system alongside this fee uplift.