The government must ensure asylum seekers receive good-quality legal representation before more families suffer
My organisation, Refugee and Migrant Justice, is the largest specialist provider of legal representation to asylum seekers and the victims of trafficking. We are facing possible closure because of the last government's mistakes.
The new government has an opportunity to make Britain's asylum system fairer, faster and more humane. Labour policies to clear backlogs, tighten borders, and appear "tough" have resulted in an expensive, inefficient and inhumane system in which children are routinely locked up and many genuine cases turned down, only to be accepted at appeal – a costly process wasting money for the taxpayer.
The new administration's decisions to end the detention of children and review asylum and legal aid are potentially positive. But, despite this good start, decisions being taken on legal aid now may define this as the moment things went horribly wrong.
Good-quality legal representation is the key to speed and fairness and offers good value for money, but the last government's funding rules are squeezing this out.
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