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Individual caseworkers
9.37Immigration work is unique in legal aid in being completely subject to an accreditation scheme. Other areas of legal aid also use accreditation, for example to qualify as a supervisor, and even restrict work by accreditation, for example criminal police station work, but only immigration funding is subject to a category-wide restriction.
9.38Unless you are accredited, you cannot be paid for doing any legal aid work in the immigration category at all.
1Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 8.15. There are several levels of accreditation:
•level 1 probationer;
•level 1 accredited caseworker;
•level 2 senior caseworker;
•level 3 advanced caseworker;
•accredited supervisor.
Type of contract work | Level of accreditation/other restriction | | |
Conduct of Legal Help matters | Level 1 accredited and above | | |
Use of delegated functions to grant Controlled Legal Representation (CLR) and conduct of CLR cases | Level 2 accredited and above | | |
All contract work carried out for an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child (UASC) | | | |
All work carried out at an immigration removal centre under the detained fast track scheme or at an on-site surgery | Level 2 accredited and above | | |
Acting as a designated supervisor | Accredited supervisor Level | | |
9.39What work can be done by caseworkers of each level is defined by the contract and the accreditation work restrictions.
9.40In this context, ‘conduct’ means ‘having responsibility and control for the progression of the case’.
3Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 8.21. So a level 1 fee earner can carry out tasks on an appeal conducted by a level 2 fee earner, whereas all work on the file of an unaccompanied child must be carried out by a level 2 fee earner.
9.41In addition to that broad rule, you must comply with the work restrictions,
4Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 8.15(b). which unfortunately are not available on the main LAA website.
5An archived version may be found here: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140604173139/http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legal-aid/civil-categories-of-law/ias-accreditation-scheme.pdf. The restrictions specify tasks that are restricted by accreditation level. Level 1 probationers may only carry out the listed tasks; level 1 caseworkers cannot deal with certain types of cases, such as vulnerable clients or disputed nationality cases. Work done by level 3 caseworkers attracts an uplift of 5 per cent on the payment rates, but only on controlled work paid at hourly rates.
6Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 8.79.9.42The 2013 contract (para 8.17) requires each of your offices to maintain a ratio of at least one full-time equivalent level 2 caseworker for every two level 1 caseworkers.
Organisations with exclusive immigration removal centre contracts
9.43Only those organisations with a contract in immigration can do work in the category. The LAA has also restricted certain types of work to organisations that have special permission to do it – they hold an Exclusive Schedule in addition to their Standard Contract Schedule setting out the restricted work they can do. Unless your organisation has an exclusive Immigration Removal Centre contract with the LAA,
7Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 paras 8.46–8.48. you will not be able to carry out any controlled work at any Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) which operates under an exclusive legal aid detention contract.
8Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 8.6. Regrettably, the current list of exclusive IRC contract providers is not on the Legal Aid Agency website.
9The most up to date list can be found at https://legalaidhandbook.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/109517-annex-a.pdf/. Providers with an exclusive detention contract have either a contract to carry out work by way of an onsite surgery or a detention fast track (DFT) contract
10At the time of writing the DFT remains suspended. Ministers have indicated an intention to restart it. or both.
11Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 8.5. The exclusive contract does not apply to licensed work (ie work that is in scope and that is carried out under a funding certificate in higher court proceedings).
9.44However, if you do not have an exclusive contract you can continue to advise and assist an existing client under asylum and immigration controlled work, where you have already carried out five hours or more of work before your client was detained
12Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 8.6(b). or where the person in detention is a close family member of your existing client and your knowledge of the family’s circumstances is material to the detainee’s case. A close family member of your client is defined as a spouse, partner, sibling, parent, grandparent or grandchild.
13Standard Civil Contract Specification 2013 para 8.6(a).Scope
9.45See chapter 5 for information on the following:
•whether other funding may be available, and public funding should not be granted;
•what to do if your client has received previous advice from another organisation;
•what to do if your client has received previous advice from your organisation;
•clients from abroad or clients who are abroad;
•clients who are children.