Rosalyn Akar Grams reviews the impact of LASPO on the provision of quality legal representation for survivors of torture, as part of an exclusive NLJ online series on legal aid post-LASPO
Bar a few notable exceptions, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) essentially limits the scope of legal aid in immigration cases to matters relating to asylum and international protection and challenges to immigration detention.
Family reunion
Family reunion is a significant area of concern for Freedom from Torture’s clients, who are survivors of torture, as it affects their path to recovery and rehabilitation. While family reunion rights arise from the Refugee Convention, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) does not accept them to be within scope. Recognised refugees are now unable to obtain legal aid for applications to bring family members they have been forced to leave behind, often due to the circumstances of the persecution they have suffered and the need to flee their country of origin quickly. Those family members are often in precarious and unsafe situations themselves through their family association or have fled the
