Policy
23 June, 2009
Government should fund representation at asylum support appeals
Legal help considerably increases chances of success, says Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice has published a report calling on the government to provide publicly funded legal representation for asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers appealing against a refusal or termination of asylum support.
The report, Supporting Justice, based on a study of decisions made by the Asylum Support Tribunal (AST) between October 2008 and March 2009 found that -
- 80% of asylum seekers and failed asylum seekers appealing need an interpreter to participate in the hearing; and
- 80% are either already homeless and/or destitute, or will become so if their appeal is dismissed.
The study found that where an asylum seeker or failed asylum seeker was represented at the hearing their chance of receiving a successful outcome increased from 38% to 71%, however, only 24% of those appealing to the tribunal received legal help.
Citizens Advice suggests that the annual cost of representation, estimated to be around £300,000, could be 'met entirely from the savings that would flow from an improvement in the quality of the UK Border Agency's initial decision-making on asylum support'.
The report recommends a number of actions that should be taken to resolve this issue that include -
- the Ministry of Justice providing publicly funded legal representation in oral hearings before the AST including pre-hearing support and advice;
- setting targets for the UK Border Agency to improve the quality of its decision-making on asylum support; and
- the UK Border Agency introducing a feedback mechanism from the AST on the quality of its initial decisions.
The report Supporting Justice is available on the Citizens Advice website.
