Lexis®Library update: The researchers worked closely with immigration lawyers and support providers who had first-hand experience of working with victims of exploitation, who spoke about their experience of legal aid within England whilst tacking these cases.
The key findings of the report demonstrate:
- survivors of exploitation face great difficulties in access to legal aid/advice whilst in the UK, despite it being a key part to recovery and securing their rights
- the funding around legal aid has been labelled as inadequate to deliver a quality service to survivors, which in turn discourages many lawyers from taking on complex modern slavery cases
- it is paramount to have access to good quality legal advice when considering survivor support and securing immigration status
The report urges the UK government to change the way legal aid is funded and has suggested a way to switch payments available to lawyers, when working on immigration cases such as these, to an hourly basis. ATLEU also recommended giving victims of modern slavery with an insecure immigration status an automatic (minimum) one-year Leave to Remain.
The full report can be seen here.
Source: ATLEU report: Survivors still facing major barriers to accessing legal advice.
This content was first published by LNB News / Lexis®Library, a LexisNexis® company, on 19 May 2021 and is published with permission. Further information can be found at: www.lexisnexis.co.uk.
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