The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has made new concessions to its proposed 12-month lawful residence test for access to civil legal aid.
In its response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) reportinto the access to justice implications of legal aid reforms, published this week, the MoJ introduced two new categories of exemption - successful asylum seekers and refugees who didn’t claim asylum in the UK but are resettled or transferred here. The latter category is aimed at refugees from the Syrian war transferred to the UK under the government’s “vulnerable person relocation scheme”.
The MoJ says it will also introduce greater flexibility around the evidence requirements for those who may find it difficult to provide evidence, such as children or persons suffering from a mental disability.
Since proposing the residence test, in its April 2013 consultation, Transforming Legal Aid: Delivering a more credible and efficient system, the MoJ has also introduced exemptions for judicial review detention cases, some trafficking victims, victims of domestic violence and forced marriage, some protection of children cases,
Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) cases and children under 12 months. Originally, exemptions were proposed for asylum cases and members of the Armed Forces.
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