Important new research commissioned by Refugee Action and undertaken by Dr Jo Wilding reveals ‘legal advice deserts’ that are preventing access to justice and causing other wide-ranging negative impacts for people seeking asylum, refugees and migrants in UK communities.

New national research commissioned by Refugee Action and lead by Dr Jo Wilding, and funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and The Community Justice Fund, has helped to evidence the extent to which a lack of legal advice and representation is impacting on refugee, asylum and migrant communities in the UK.

No access to justice: How legal advice deserts fail refugees, migrants and our communities, by Dr Jo Wilding, has revealed that poor quality legal advice and representation are drivers of destitution, homelessness and isolation and lead to poor mental and physical health amongst people within migrant and refugee communities.

‘Legal advice deserts’ also affect the capacity, resources and resilience of the services that are there to support people in migrant and refugee communities, such as Local Authorities and NACCOM members, whose services are impacted by the deficit in legal aid.

Dr Jo Wilding, the report’s author, said: “In every part of England and Wales, there is a deficit between the need for immigration and asylum legal advice and the provision available. There is not enough legal aid provision to meet even the need which is clearly eligible for legal aid (without an application for exceptional funding). The North West of England has numerically the largest deficit, despite having the second-highest amount of legal aid provision. Across England and Wales as a whole, there is a deficit of at least 6,000 for asylum applications alone – which is just one of the reasons why remote advice is not an adequate solution to the supply problems.”

“The UK Regional Immigration Advice Mapping Project (UKRIAM) aimed to understand the need for immigration and asylum legal advice in all parts of the UK, and how much provision, of what type, is out there to meet that need. The research looked at geographical patterns of both need and provision: What drives the need for advice in a particular region, and what determines whether advice is available? And if supply is not meeting demand, what are the obstacles preventing expansion?”

“The research offers a detailed account of the current geography and economics of immigration and asylum legal advice need and provision across the UK, with a national picture followed by a section for each region or nation. We hope it will be a useful resource for funders, advice provider organisations, and government bodies to understand and start to resolve the serious deficit between need and provision.”

In NACCOM’s latest annual member survey, 36 of our of 67 (54%) full members (offering accommodation) provided some form of legal advice or non-legal casework support, or worked in partnership with a registered legal practitioner.

What the Government needs to do:

➡️ People who are refused asylum should be supported with independent free legal advice to explore their options and make informed choices about their future. Funding and the scope of legal aid should be expanded to ensure adequate provision.