Challenging the Lord Chancellor over Legal Aid Fees

Project Officer, Elinor Mattey, explains what the legal action against the Lord Chancellor could mean for access to justice in Wales

Earlier this year, Duncan Lewis Solicitors challenged the Lord Chancellor in the High Court over the failure to raise legal aid rates for ‘immigration and asylum controlled work’, or to address the issues with provision in a timely and effective manner. This claim was supported by evidence of the 48 per cent real terms cut in rates since fees were last increased in 1996. This has contributed to the decline in legal aid services which has left thousands of people struggling to find representation for immigration and asylum matters, despite being eligible for legal aid. 

In September, Duncan Lewis Solicitors withdrew its claim on the agreement that the Lord Chancellor will decide whether or not to increase the fees and rates for controlled immigration and asylum work.  

The Lord Chancellor will announce her decision by the end of November 2024. 

In Wales, we have seen a drastic 60 per cent reduction in offices providing immigration and asylum legal aid in just over five years. The Lord Chancellor should take into account the enormous impact this has on people needing immigration advice in Wales. The fee structure for controlled work (the work done at application stage and appeals to tribunal) has left many practitioners being underpaid for the time spent on cases, contributing to the financial hardship on providers and the UK-wide reduction in immigration and asylum practitioners. The provision of immigration legal aid providers in Wales is limited, with most providers concentrated in the South-East of Wales, in Cardiff and Newport. The current situation is so bad that the legal aid system is effectively in collapse.  

Without it, many people in Wales and across the UK will not be able to afford legal services. Without legal services people are unable to secure justice, a fundamental principle of a democratic society. In our recent study into the experiences of accessing immigration legal services in Wales, 40 per cent of the people we spoke to with a current legal case were unable to find representation. 

Increasing the rates for immigration and asylum-controlled work in line with inflation would prevent further provider loss and would make immigration legal aid practice more financially viable. This would ensure Wales does not lose any more valuable immigration legal aid practices, and contributes to ensuring better access to justice for people with immigration and asylum claims in Wales.  

The findings from our Experiences of Justice research are being published as part of a five edition report series. You can read some of the reports here.