Help Save Immigration Aid Unit
posted: 09/07/2010
Vital legal help with immigration and asylum problems for people with HIV (and many other people) is threatened. The Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, which gives excellent help to people with HIV, is to have its funding from the government cut. Our leading regional Immigration Aid Unit will no longer be able to provide 70% of the help that it does now.
Immigration aid funding cuts
The Legal Services Commission told them at the end of June that their legal aid contract will be cut from October 2010. Last month another major excellent immigration aid unit in London, Refugee and Migrant Justice, (which also had offices in Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle and Nottingham), was forced to close down.
Save our Immigration Aid Unit
We can’t let this happen in Greater Manchester. The Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) does exceptional work for people with HIV and immigration and asylum problems. We and they need you to help us fight this massive funding cut.
The GMIAU works with some of the most vulnerable people for whom the asylum system has already done an injustice. Daily they see people who have been unrepresented because they weren't able to get legal advice, or they got advice for their asylum claim but when it came to appeal their legal representative turned them away - because the work isn't 'profitable'.
See below for more details on what is happening – Statement from the Immigration Aid Unit
How they want you to help
This is what you can do
- Contact your local MP. You can use the 'contact your politician' green and yellow box on their website. Please do it now and when you get replies email or post copies of the replies to the Immigration Aid Unit .
Point out to your MP what a valuable service they provide and how they rely on organisations, including GMIAU, to help their constituents. Without the GMIAU their advice surgery queues will get longer and their work will become much harder. Around 1,500 people with HIV in NW England (25% of all those living with HIV), most of whom live in Greater Manchester, are not British Citizens and many of them have complex asylum and immigration problems. Get your MP to pledge their support.
- email / write to the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor
Rt.Hon.Kenneth Clarke QC MP
Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor
Ministry of Justice
102 Petty France
London
SW1H OAL
email Ken Clarke through this address
- Write to the Minister for Justice
Damian Green MP
Minister for Immigration
Home Office
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1 4DF
- please email a copy all replies please to Denise the director of the Immigration Aid Unit
- Ask your Trade Union or Professional Body to back the campaign.
Skilled and experienced immigration caseworkers across the country are losing their jobs as a result of cuts to legal aid for more complex cases.
- Become a supporter of GMIAU.
Support the work of GMIAU by getting friends and colleagues to sign up as a supporter and offering to do work for us (all assistance with legal action welcome), donate or fundraise.
Email Denise to sign up.
More information on campaigning for Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
For more information please email Denise McDowell, Director or ring 0161-741 2646.
Statement from the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
Statement about our position since the announcement of the outcome of the legal aid contracts for immigration.
This is the latest evidence of damage to the advice sector by the Legal Services Commission (LSC).
After three years of preparation, and several delays, the outcome of the national tendering round seems to have hinged upon whether an organisation ticked a box to say that they had applied for a level 3 caseworker to gain 1 point. This is so ludicrous as to be almost laughable. Except that of course it's not funny at all.
The LSC have damaged immigration legal aid beyond repair.
This will mean that people needing quality representation will be detrimentally affected. It will mean that there will be even more people standing unrepresented before the courts.
Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit remains committed to providing a high quality service to people affected by immigration control. Whilst the cut will affect the number of people we can see who are funded through legal aid we remain as committed as ever to the people we are here to serve - people affected by immigration control. Over the next few weeks and months we will be taking action to manage this situation including seeking to secure alternative funding to continue the work.
YOUR SUPPORT IS CRUCIAL.
THANK YOU
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