Hackney Community Law Centre and Hackney Migrant Centre - Strategic Litigation Researcher

Hackney Law Centre (HLC) and Hackney Migrant Centre (HMC) are seeking a researcher for a 6 month project to carry out strategic litigation research into the impact of recent and ongoing local authority decisions affecting the rights of children from migrant families to accommodation and support.

Hackney Law Centre provides free advice and representation to people who face barriers in getting access to legal services.  Hackney Migrant Centre is a charity offering a free drop-in advice service to migrants. The research project will focus on the impact on migrant children decision making by social services in relation to Section 17 of the UK’s Children’s Act 1989 cases, and on the extent to which the children are placed in inadequate accommodation. There are a large number of children from migrant families who are destitute or are becoming destitute and need to rely on social services support because their parents’ immigration status does not allow them to access welfare benefits or statutory housing.

Our work is seeking to place the best interests of the child at the forefront of thinking by children and family services, and to provide evidence to argue that the standard and location of accommodation offered (together with the rates offered for subsistence) has a detrimental impact on children.  Our legal team will then identify potential test cases to take forward to challenge systematic failures and poor policy implementation.  We will also contribute to the ongoing strategic legal work ongoing for support rates in Section 17 and domestic violence cases.

Key duties:

• Liaise with other projects working on Section 17 projects and attend advisory group meetings

• Assist in devising a questionnaire to interview parents regarding the effect of the adequacy and gatekeeping by social services on their children i.e. are they living in overcrowded accommodation, can they feed and clothe their children adequately.
• Ask the parents if they will be prepared to challenge the policy and assess eligibility for legal aid.
• collate data to argue that to impose such a restriction on families and children is in breach of s55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, and/or s.17 Children Act 1989, and discriminatory. 
• gather evidence to take a test case or preferably test cases which demonstrates the adverse effect on children.

Pay: £125 per day – total 25 days over period of 6 months to start within one month.

Interested applicants should have knowledge and experience of the law and policy relating to children and migrant families. They should email a copy of their current CV highlighting their proven research experience in this area.

Applications should be emailed to Bella Donnelly at: bella@hclc.org.uk. All applications should include a CV and covering letter (max 2 sides of A4). Closing date for applications is Monday 6 October 2014 @ 5pm

Click here and here for more background on the project.