Question reference: S4W-30273
- Asked by: Jim Eadie, MSP for Edinburgh Southern, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 3 March 2016
-
Current status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 17 March 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what support it can provide to asylum seekers in Scotland to ensure that they can access the justice system, in light of reported concerns about the potential impact of the proposals in the Immigration Bill 2015-16.
Answer
As outlined in the answer to S4W-30268 on 15 March 2016 from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners' Rights, Scottish Ministers have expressed our concern to the UK Government about the impact on asylum seekers of proposals contained in their Immigration Bill.
In Scotland, asylum seekers are able to apply for publicly funded legal assistance under the same eligibility criteria as any applicant facing legal proceedings and their legal status is not a barrier. In general terms, residency is not considered when applying for legal aid in Scotland. Where it is available under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986, a person can apply for and be granted legal assistance subject to the statutory tests.
For asylum cases at the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal, asylum seekers can access ‘assistance by way of representation’. In most cases only a means test is applied and all of these applications will be passed on merits.
In additional to the general availability of publicly funded legal assistance, the Scottish Government has provided £100,000 of funding in 2015-16 for a specific project run by the Legal Services Agency which works with women and children in Scotland who have an unsettled asylum/immigration position and who have experienced gender-based violence in their country of origin and/or the UK. This project can provide advice, assistance and representation on claiming asylum in the UK and immigration status.
All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.