Background
The Scottish Legal Aid Board (the Board) is a non-departmental public body with responsibility for providing access to justice for those eligible and in need of it in a cost effective manner.
The Board has three strategic aims:
- to deliver efficient, effective and value for money legal assistance services
- to broaden access by exploring new ways of providing and supporting quality assured legal advice services
- to contribute to the improvement and effective operation of the justice system.
In line with these aims, the Board undertakes a range of different research activities (both internally and using external partners) to inform policy development, implementation and evaluations. These activities cover three broad themes of: stakeholder engagement, understanding the level and nature of legal aid provision, and improving operations. A key element of this research programme is their applicants' survey which seeks the views of legal aid applicants as to how the legal aid system is working and to identify areas where the system can be improved. Progressive undertook the 2009 wave of the applicants' survey (using a telephone based methodology). In addition to this, and due to the specific needs and challenges that face asylum seekers in accessing legal aid and legal advice, the Board wished to commission specific research within this audience to explore their needs in separate detail.
The Brief
The Scottish Legal Aid Board commissioned Progressive to explore the experiences of asylum seekers in accessing legal aid and the judicial system up to and immediately after their Home Office substantive interview (i.e. not including any appeal). This included identifying any barriers to accessing services and exploring opportunities to ensure that asylum seekers can access legal aid and services as easily as possible. The specific aims of the research were to:
- explore asylum seekers' awareness of the legal aid system
- understand asylum seekers' perceptions and experiences of accessing the judicial system
- identify the key barriers to accessing services
Our Research Approach
The research required a multi-stage approach and demonstrated our ability to work flexibilly and collaboratively with a partners to access hard to reach respondents and also showed our strengths in conducting research into sensitive issues.
Initially the research involved a scoping exercise of qualitative interviews with key stakeholders involved in asylum work in Glasgow to explore and understand the process of claiming asylum, the key stages involved and these respondents' perceived barriers to accessing justice for asylum seekers. This included in depth interviews with solicitors, members of the Scottish Refugee Council and the Scottish Induction Service. This stage also enabled Progressive to build links with these key agencies in order to identify the most effective routes through which asylum seeker respondents could be recruited and interviewed. This was particularly important given the need to ensure that respondents were dealt with sensitively and appropriately during a period of significant disruption to their lives.
The research with asylum seekers was then undertaken using a face-to-face qualitative methodology (in most cases using interpreters). Research interviews were undertaken with 33 asylum seekers early on in their application process. Fourteen respondents also undertook a second interview with the research team after they had received their asylum decision.
The Output
The research identified a range of key areas where asylum seekers have gaps in their knowledge of the process and of the support services available within the current asylum system. Key recommendations were made to overcome these gaps and to support asylum seekers through the early stages of their application. The research was also been disseminated to the UKBA and the Home Office and findings have fed into wider asylum work conducted by the Scottish Legal Aid Board.