PHSO finds Legal Aid Agency guilty of unfairness and unreasonable delay

Article summary

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has published the findings of an investigation which found that the Legal Aid Agency blocked three rough sleepers living in the UK from accessing the justice system to challenge deportation orders. According to the PHSO, this was due to conflicting government procedures and delays. In 2017, the Law Centre, which represented the three rough sleepers, applied to the Legal Aid Agency for funding. The Agency delayed its response, which resulted in the Law Centre self-funding the legal challenge. One of the clients was detained and had their passport removed by the time the Agency provided the funding. The Agency was only able to provide funding from the day of the decision to grant it, meaning the full cost of the legal challenges was not covered.