The conference is sold out. Please email us on lag@lag.org.uk if you wish to be put on the reserve list.
The conference is sold out. Please email us at
lag@lag.org.uk if you wish to be put on the reserve list.
The law relating to migrants and asylum-seekers is complicated. Recent years have seen the introduction of the Immigration Acts of 2014 and 2016, as well as more than 45,000 changes to the Immigration Rules. In addition, the government’s creation of a ‘hostile environment’ to deter immigration has resulted in more hurdles and obstacles placed in the way of all migrants, including asylum-seekers, severely curtailing their rights and hindering their access to essential services.
Those working in this complex area of law are often faced with desperate, vulnerable clients, and need to know their legal rights in order to establish their access to housing, welfare benefits and healthcare.
It is against this backdrop that the LAG/Garden Court Chambers Migrant Support conference will take place. Barristers from Garden Court Chambers, many of whom have appeared in cases challenging aspects of the hostile environment, will present authoritative legal perspectives on migrant support. They will be joined by expert presenters from organisations operating on the ground who will be able to articulate the practical implications of interpreting the law and share their valuable experiences.
Programme
09.00 Registration
09.40 Plenary – Amanda Weston QC, Garden Court Chambers
10.00 Immigration/Asylum Law – Amanda Weston QC (chair), Garden Court Chambers; Louise Hooper, Garden Court Chambers; Greg Ó Ceallaigh, Garden Court Chambers
The session will cover:
•Basic FM rights in EEA and UK law ∙
• Remedies including administrative review and rights of appeal ∙
• What applications for interim relief can be made to ameliorate the impact of the hostile environment ∙
• Probable post-Brexit situation
11.00 Refreshments
11.25 Breakout 1 – Please choose one
•A. Welfare Benefits – Rebecca Walker (chair), benefits adviser, writer and trainer; Desmond Rutledge, Garden Court Chambers; William Ford, Osbornes Law
The session will cover:
•Persons subject to immigration control and no recourse to public funds
•Mixed households
•Acquiring permanent residence based on five years continuous residence, and the problem of gaps in residence
•Retaining worker status and the problem of gaps due to the ‘delay’ in claiming JSA or ESA∙
• Misunderstanding Saint Prix rights
B. Adult Care – Carol Storer (chair), LAG vice-chair; Tim Baldwin, Garden Court Chambers; Katy Robinson, Wilson Solicitors LLP
The session will cover:
•Overview of the legislative schemes for adult social care of migrants
•Presenting need and the process of assessment under the Care Act
•Schedule 3 and routes to provision: human right
•Provision for victims of trafficking (VOTs)
•Taking instructions from clients with care needs
•Obtaining (and challenging) assessments for migrant clients
•Working with adults with care needs in immigration detention
•Updated Home Office guidance on asylum-seekers with care needs (August 2018)
12.45 Lunch
13.45 Breakout 2 – Please choose one
•C. Asylum Support – Bryony Poynor (chair), Garden Court Chambers; Irena Sabic, Garden Court Chambers; Deborah Gellner, Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP)
The session will cover:
•Developments in s95 and assessment of destitution, including Principal Judge Storey’s decision ZN, AS/17/09/37288
•Developments in s4(2), focusing on further submission cases
•Intersection of asylum support and Children Act 1989 s17 support
•Schedule 10 and immigration bail, including delays in provision of bail and/or schedule 10 support
•Recent developments of note: K and AM on cutting subsistence payment to VOTs.
•Home Office accommodation (s95, s4 and Schedule 10)
D. Healthcare – Bethan Harris (chair), Garden Court Chambers; Rayah Feldman, Maternity Action; Sasha Rozansky, Deighton Pierce Glynn
The session will cover:
•Access to healthcare for people from abroad
•The NHS Charging Regulations
•Recent developments in healthcare law for migrants
•How NHS charging operates in practice
•The impact on migrant women of charging for NHS maternity care
15.00 Refreshments
15.20 Breakout 3 – Please choose one
E. Housing – Maria Moodie (chair), Garden Court Chambers; Tessa Buchanan, Garden Court Chambers; Chai Patel, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI)
The session will cover:
•Social housing (homelessness and allocations)
•The right to rent scheme as it relates to individuals
•JCWI research on discrimination caused by right to rent
•Permission to rent for those who do not have a right to rent
•The legal challenge to the right to rent scheme
F. Child Care – Shu Shin Luh (chair), Garden Court Chambers; Gráinne Mellon, Garden Court Chambers; Connor Johnston, Garden Court Chambers
The session will cover:
•Migrant families seeking support under the Children Act 1989
•Unlawful gatekeeping of families seeking support
•Suitability and location of accommodation (including the s11 Children Act 2004 duty)
•The interplay between Children Act support and asylum support
•The relevance of the ‘right to rent’ to the assessment process
•Issues affecting UASCs
•Care leavers and the new duties under the Children and Social Work Act 2017
16.40 Q&A, closing remarks and next steps – Carol Storer, LAG vice-chair; Shu Shin Luh, Garden Court Chambers
17.00 Drinks reception
Please note the programme is liable to change. Delegates will receive a course pack with notes including all breakout sessions.
Who should attend?
Lawyers working with migrant clients, advice workers and local authority staff in social services and legal departments as well as case workers from migrants’ rights organisations and charities will find attending this conference invaluable.