Immigration updates

On this page:

Changes to the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Structure to take effect
Amendments to Reporting Guidance:
Consultation on Funding Immigration and Asylum Legal Aid in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal
Guidance for claiming immigration controlled work disbursements for cases commenced prior to 01 October 2007
Appointment Making Pilot for asylum applicants
Civil Bid Rounds for 2010 Contracts

Changes to the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Structure to take effect:

On 15th February 2010 the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) will transfer into the new two-tier unified tribunal structure established by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

In preparation of the transfer we consulted on the changes required to ensure that legal aid funding continued to be available under the new structure. The aim was to replicate, as closely as possible, the existing levels of payment to practitioners following the transfer into the new tribunal structure. To read more about the consultation process please visit the Immigration Policy Development page of this site.

Necessary changes to the Immigration Specification:

We have made the necessary contract and regulation changes to ensure that funding remains available from 15 February 2010. These changes ensure that cases heard in the First-tier Tribunal will continue to be paid at the same rates as currently payable for AIT substantive appeals - either under the Graduated Fee Scheme or at Hourly Rates, depending on the type of case, as set out in the Immigration Specification.

The rates payable for Upper Tribunal appeals are broadly comparable to those that were applicable in relation to Applications for Review and Reconsideration appeals.

A notice of the amendments to the Immigration Specification can be obtained from the Unified Contract (Civil) page. A revised version of the 2007 Immigration Specification can also be located on this page.

Changes to Retrospective Funding for onward appeals:

As a result of the changes, the retrospective funding order scheme has been abolished and cost orders will no longer be required. Funding, subject to some limited exceptions as set out in the Immigration Specification, will now be determined by the outcome of the permission application for leave to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. For most cases, where the judge refuses the application no funding will be claimable; where it is successful the costs of that application and subsequent appeal costs will be claimable subject to the usual LSC funding requirements.

Cases that have started prior to the transfer and under the Review and Reconsideration process will continue to require a 103D cost order and providers will need to apply for these in the normal way. The Transitional Arrangements can be found in Schedule 4 of the Transfer of Functions of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal Order 2010.

Costs for successful applications for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal and any subsequent work in relation to a hearing before the Upper Tribunal will continue to be subject to assessment by the National Immigration and Asylum Team (NIAT).

Amendments to Reporting Guidance:

In readiness for these changes, the LSC has amended the Immigration section of the civil codes guidance replacing all references to the AIT and Review & Reconsideration, with amended references to the new First Tier and Upper Tribunal.

Given the likely impact that changes to the codes would have had on providers and software vendors, we have taken the decision to not change the codes themselves or their titles at this time. We have however amended the description of the appropriate codes to reflect the new tribunal structure.

Where appropriate we have highlighted such changes in bold below the title of the code itself.

We have also included examples of the continued use of these codes when reporting matters relating to appeals under the previous appeal structure.

The revised documents can be downloaded from the Civil Forms page

If you have any questions regarding the amendments, please email the Civil Legal Help Queries Team

Consultation on Funding Immigration and Asylum Legal Aid in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal

The Ministry of Justice has recently issued consultation documents setting out out how we propose to ensure that funding remains available for appeals which will transfer the work of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) into the unified tribunal structure.

from a funding perspective, the aim is to replicate, as closely as possible, the current scheme of payments in the new tribunals.
the consultation closes on Friday 21st August 2009.
visit the Immigration Policy Development page to read more.

Guidance for claiming immigration controlled work disbursements for cases commenced prior to 01 October 2007

Following detailed discussions with providers and representative bodies, the LSC is pleased to announce details of a one-off exercise allowing providers to submit disbursement claims (to include counsels fees) outside the normal billing rules.

The exercise applies to all asylum and non-asylum cases where the matter was opened by you before 1 October 2007.

Visit the Immigration Policy Development page to read more.

Appointment Making Pilot for asylum applicants

On 1 April 2009 we began a pilot for an Internet based appointment making system for asylum applicants. The system is being trialled in the Wales & South West NAM Region.

The pilot should run for at least 3 months.

Visit the Immigration Policy Development page to read more.

Civil Bid Rounds for 2010 Contracts

The current civil Unified Contract is due to expire in 2010. We have consulted on the bid criteria and award process for civil contracts from 2010. The consultation focuses on proposals for:

The types of service we want to buy
Where services are delivered from
How we will invite tenders for new contracts
Changes to the scope of funding, including changes to payment for experts
Key amendments to the contract terms (covering crime and civil Standard Terms).

This consultation closed on 23 January 2009 and the summary of responses has now been published. The LSC's response will be published in the early summer.

Visit the Civil Bid Rounds for 2010 Contracts page to read more.

Last updated: 04 February 2010