08/06/2010 – Possible closure of Refugee and Migrant Justice
The Observer newspaper recently announced the possible closure of Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) due to bureaucratic rules that have resulted in late payment by the Legal Services Commission.
It's unreasonable to expect a charity to wait months, even years for payment. Lasa was forced to give up its Legal Services Commission (LSC) contract in 2008 as we were unable to make the contract work - unsurprisingly one of the major issues was cashflow. It cannot be right that vital voluntary organizations go out of business because they do not receive prompt payment from a government department for work already completed. Refugee and Migrant Justice provide an excellent service to asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants with the greatest needs. The Legal Services Commission's bureaucratic payment system is not only putting that service under threat, if the RMJ closes I understand this will lead to more than 10,000 people being left without legal representation which could cause chaos in the asylum system. Lives will be put at risk and there are likely to be many more miscarriages of justice, which are already common. These of course are likely to cost the Government far more in the long run to put right.
The LSC must consider urgently paying this very important charity what it is due or to make interest free loans available to make up the difference. I appreciate that public finances are under pressure but understand the Government is committed to a fundamental review of legal aid. This is the perfect opportunity to cut out inefficiency and pay providers like RMJ fairly and promptly.
We will have to wait and see if this matter is taken seriously by the government. Immediate action is called for to save the RMJ - a vital service which many vulnerable people cannot live without.
Posted by Andy Gregg