§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what legal advice is made available to asylum seekers. [139651]
§ Mr. LammyPublicly funded legal help is available for those making an asylum application, provided the client is financially eligible. Where an asylum application is refused, further legal advice and representation is available for an appeal, although at this stage the availability of public funding is subject to a strict merits test.
Only solicitors' firms or advice agencies that hold a contract with the Legal Services Commission may undertake publicly funded work.
My Department recently consulted on a series of changes to publicly funded immigration and asylum advice and representation. An announcement on the way forward will be made separately. In addition, the Department, the Home Office and the Legal Services Commission are currently examining the initial decision-making stage of the asylum process with particular regard to the role that publicly funded legal advice plays.