Access to legal advice
Access to legal advice for dispersed asylum seekers [July 2008]
The Asylum Support Partnership regularly sees asylum seekers who have difficulty accessing legal advice. This paper provides anecdotal information based on U.K. wide experiences of helping asylum seekers to access legal advice. It comments on the supply of solicitors, difficulties faced at different stages of an asylum application and the quality of advice given. It makes a number of recommendations to UKBA, the Legal Services Commission, the Justice Department of the Scottish Government and the Scottish Legal Aid Board. These include the recommendation that UKBA should amend procedures so that substantive interviews do not take place before 10 days after a person has claimed asylum and do not take place before a person has had the opportunity to discuss their case in full with a legal representative.
In September 2008 the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum conducted a themed discussion on legal representation for asylum seekers. This paper was presented at that meeting, alongside papers from Refugee Action and ILPA. Several other agencies contributed information to the discussion. UKBA, LSC and others are considering their responses to the paper, its recommendations, and other points raised at the meeting. It is expected that these responses will be shared at the NASF meeting in November 2008.
