In response to the judgment, on 1 November 2021 the Legal Aid Agency amended the legal aid contract to provide a legal advice service for all immigration detainees held in prisons, whereby they can access 30 minutes of advice without reference to their financial eligibility.
The scheme was designed to remedy the discriminatory treatment identified by the court and serve as a functional equivalent to the Detained Duty Advice Scheme for people who are held for immigration reasons in IRCs.
However, BID found that 74% of people it spoke to had not received any additional information about how to get legal aid help with their immigration case.
One person said: “I’ve been asking for legal aid but no one talks to you about that and no numbers to ring – everyone is a joke, no one does their job, from the prison to the Home Office.”
The Prison Service is due to unblock the numbers of legal aid advisers on prison phones. Under the scheme, each prison must provide people held for immigration reasons with a list of legal aid firms in cloys proximity to the prison. It is then up to the individual to contact a legal aid provider to request an appointment, with the provider arranging a legal visit, and the Legal Aid Agency paying for their time and travel.
The law is complex
The parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights’ detention report of February 2019 states: “Given the challenges individuals face in detention, and the complexity of the law, legal advice and representation is crucial to help individuals to pursue their rights effectively”.
Even in cases held before a tribunal, such as bail applications, which are intended to be more accessible for applicants than other immigration proceedings, those without legal representation face considerable disadvantages.
BID said in its report: “Representation is especially vital for those pursuing deportation appeals – which have become very difficult to win due to successive changes in legislation.”
