Legal charity the Public Law Project has been granted permission to challenge the introduction of a residence test for accessing UK legal aid. The proposed test would restrict legal aid from people who are (a) not lawfully resident in the UK and (b) have not been lawfully resident in the UK for 12 months.
The Public Law Project sought permission to bring to challenge the residence test because it says the changes are likely to reduce access to justice for a large amount of people. The court has awarded a protective costs order (PCO) in favour of the Public Law Project. In a press release, the charity said that the PCO “is significant as it limits PLP’s exposure to the risk of an adverse costs order and so makes the challenge viable.”
The Ministry of Justice has said that introduction of the test is to be postponed from 31 March to sometime in May 2014, subject to the outcome of the challenge.
Click here to read a PILA Bulletin article about the cuts to UK legal aid (including the introduction of the residence test) made under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
In comparison, there is no residence requirement in order to apply for legal aid in Ireland. The Legal Aid Board in Ireland can grant legal aid to a person not resident in Ireland, if that person satisfies the relevant financial eligibility criteria in their country of residence. Click here to read a relevant Law Society brochure.
NGOs have claimed that the proposed residency test could result in abandoned, migrant and trafficked children being left destitute and at risk of exploitation. Click here to read an article in the Guardian.