Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #38

Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!

There was big news on Friday as we heard that the Lord Chancellor has conceded the judicial review challenging inaction on legal aid fees for immigration and asylum work. Usefully, we have a fairly clear timetable for when action needs to be taken. The government has been provided with ample evidence as to the need for a substantial increase, so now we wait to see what the initial offer will be in November. 

In other news, it was also Labour conference last week. Both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary mentioned immigration and asylum in their speeches, but there was nothing really new or exciting said. 

I went to a report launch last week for Micro Rainbow’s new report “Held Back: Poverty of LGBTQI Refugees in the UK“. One of the recommendations in the report is for the “move on” period (the amount of time a newly recognised refugee has before their asylum support is stopped) to be extended from 28 days to 56 days. I have written about this a fair amount previously, particularly during last year’s chaos when the period was reduced, causing widespread homelessness. The Local Government Association has also recently called for the period to be extended to 56 days. This is a recommendation that has had a huge amount of support for a long period of time, and it would be good to finally see some movement. 

On Free Movement last week, we covered the publication of the Home Office commissioned report “The Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal” as well as the First-tier Tribunal (GRC) decision that ordered it to be disclosed after the Home Office refused a freedom of information request. 

We published this extremely useful guide on travelling to the UK with status under the EU Settlement Scheme which also explains the situation for those with pending applications as well as those who have not yet made a late application. We also flagged up a without notice change to the ability to have a lost or stolen biometric residence permit replaced.

There were also a couple of case write ups, including this one where a person who was unlawfully detained at Brook House was awarded over £200,000 in damages. In another decision, the Upper Tribunal has given guidance on deportation of EU nationals for post-Brexit conduct. 

For everything else on the blog and elsewhere, read on.

Cheers, Sonia

What we’re reading

Can we solve the small boats crisis? – immigration barrister Colin Yeo and Ros Taylor discuss – The Bunker podcast, 24 September

Five principles for a new British Citizenship Act – Colin’s Substack, 26 September

‘We wake up with anxiety’: victims of far-right riots on lingering fear and an uncertain future – The Guardian, 27 September

Civil legal aid: raise fees by 20% to ‘stabilise vital public service’ – Law Society Gazette, 26 September

What I found on the secretive tropical island they don’t want you to see – BBC News, 29 September

‘Successive governments feel sense of shame…and don’t want to engage with Windrush’, says immigration lawyer – Channel 4, 26 September

‘Unsustainable fees’ and ‘burnt out’ lawyers: remote advice no solution for legal aid deserts – The Justice Gap, 27 September

Home Office rapped after sick mother dies during visa wait – The National, 23 September