Executive Summary
Background to the review
1. As part of its Access to Justice Agenda the Scottish Executive has committed to providing access to legal advice and representation to immigrants and asylum seekers in Scotland. The Immigration Advisory Service is the primary provider of free legal services to immigrants and asylum seekers not currently eligible for legal aid in Scotland.
2. IAS is an independent organisation that provides advice and representation services to immigrants and asylum seekers. At the beginning of 2005, the Scottish Executive pledged funding to IAS in Scotland for two years with a stipulation that this funding would be reviewed at the end of that period. A decision on continued funding is due to be made in March 2007.
3. Following a competitive tender, PA Consulting Group ( PA) was engaged by the Justice Department of the Scottish Executive to undertake an evaluation of the IAS in Scotland. The purpose of the review was to examine the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation and its contribution to the Access to Justice agenda. Considering both the current and future context, the review was to include a cost/benefit analysis that focused on quality of service provision and value for money, as well as consideration of alternative service provision mechanisms. The PA review commenced on the 9 th October 2006.
4. The following activities were undertaken over the eight-week review period:
- Review of policy and performance
- Review of organisational effectiveness
- Value for money assessment
- Examination of alternative sources of service provision
5. Sources of data included a review of available management information and documentation, interviews with IAS staff (including the Principal Solicitor and staff in Scotland, and the Senior Management Team at IAS Head Office), and interviews with key stakeholders from a range of organisations that interact with IAS. In addition, benchmarking data was gathered to compare the costs and performance of IAS in Scotland to that of other providers.
Key Findings
Role of IAS in Scotland
6. IAS provides general legal advice, casework and representation to individuals with UK immigration or asylum problems.
7. General advice is provided through a range of channels, including a telephone advice line, e-mail service, outreach surgeries at Citizens Advice Bureaux in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and a Drop-In Service in Glasgow. In addition, IAS provides ad hoc advice as and when required. During the 18-month period from April 2005 to September 2006, IAS provided advice to customers on over 4,000 separate occasions - an average of 52 times per week.
8. Casework and representation includes support for initial applications, appeals, applications for reconsideration, and - in a small number of cases - petitions to the Court of Session in Edinburgh. From April 2005 to September 2006, IAS opened over 1,200 cases - an average of 70 per month. Of these, two-thirds were Scottish Executive funded cases (primarily relating to immigration) and one third were legal aid cases (primarily relating to asylum).
9. The majority of IAS case clients are from the Glasgow area, with Edinburgh second. Geographic location data is currently only captured for cases, not advice, so the extent of IAS's overall coverage across Scotland cannot be measured.
10. In addition to its "transactional" work of legal advice and representation, IAS provides a number of services that bring value to the overall asylum and immigration arena in Scotland. These include the IAS Scottish Advisory Council (which brings together key asylum and immigration stakeholders for information sharing), the provision of support of the Scottish Executive's Relocation Advisory Service, working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children, and supporting the Cross Party Group on Refugees and Asylum Seekers.
11. From its headquarters in London, IAS plays a key role in contributing to the overall UK-wide immigration and asylum debate. The close links between IAS in Glasgow and the Head Office ensure that Scotland benefits from the role played by the wider IAS organisation.
The Cost of IAS
12. The overall budget for IAS in Scotland for 2006/07 is £666,000, of which the Scottish Executive funds £405,000 through a block grant.
13. The majority of IAS costs relate to salaries and pensions. It should be noted that accommodation costs are currently understated, as the IAS Bath Street office, which is owned outright, is currently treated as a "free" asset in the accounts.
14. A contribution to Head Office costs accounts for 16% of the total IAS Scotland budget. An examination of these costs, however, shows that the majority (73%) relate to services purchased/provided by the Head Office on behalf of IAS in Scotland.
15. IAS in Scotland faces a constant challenge balancing Scottish Executive and legal aid work. While the Scottish Executive grant is fixed, legal aid income depends on the level of legal aid activity undertaken, which is demand-driven. The 6-month accounts to 30 th September 2006 show that IAS in Scotland approximately broke-even. Moving forward, it will be critical for IAS in Scotland to closely monitor legal aid income to ensure it achieves full cost recovery.
Quality of Service and Value for Money
16. The IAS provides a quality service to its clients and wider stakeholders. This is evidenced by:
- Quality measures for service provision, including positive reviews by the Law Society of Scotland, high performance ratings on customer satisfaction questionnaires from the Glasgow and Edinburgh surgeries, and favourable feedback from training courses
- A favourable comparison of appeals outcomes in Glasgow, which shows that the proportion of IAS-represented cases that were allowed (48%) over the past 18 months greatly exceeded the average for all cases (28%)
- Positive stakeholder feedback, with "professional", "in-depth expertise" and "helpful" being some of the consistent themes raised during stakeholder interviews
17. In addition, the IAS provides value for money to the Scottish Executive in terms of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The is evidenced by a favourable comparison of IAS Scotland costs with those of IAS offices in other regions, and the fact that IAS legal aid costs submitted to the Scottish Legal Aid Board are at the average for all immigration legal service providers in Scotland.
18. There are, however, some changes that could be made by IAS to help improve service quality and address current gaps in service provision particularly in respect of accessibility and geographic coverage:
- Ensuring a greater presence in Edinburgh - both with regard to the volume of clients seen, and the complexity of casework undertaken
- Expanding IAS presence elsewhere in Scotland, both through surgeries such as in Aberdeen and potentially Dundee, and through closer partnerships with local advisors/solicitors
- Proactively seeking feedback from stakeholders to ensure continuous improvement in service quality
- Extending the telephone advice line to more than just one day a week
- Reviewing the marketing of IAS in Scotland, both to raise awareness amongst potential clients and to make stakeholders more aware of the IAS "brand" and the added value it provides as an organisation
- Improving the capture and use of management information, both to help the future planning of IAS services, and to inform the overall immigration/asylum picture in Scotland
- Improving telephone access for all key stakeholders, especially pre-10am and post-4pm when the main IAS telephone line is closed
19. In addition, through its training course via the Scottish Refugee Council, IAS can help to build greater capacity in other parts of Scotland. It could also help others build on these courses through the formal provision of telephone/e-mail advice to non- IAS advisors outside of Glasgow.
20. IAS is already aware of many of these issues, and is developing plans to take them forward. Cost, however, is obviously a key concern, especially for the expansion of the service in Edinburgh.
Alternative Sources of Service Provision and Funding
21. There are 3 key drivers which may impact the provision of asylum and immigration legal services in the future:
- Case mix changes may result in different types of service being required
- Process changes may impact the level and timing of service demand, and increase the importance of raising early awareness of legal service provision to asylum seekers. If Scotland continues to want to encourage migration, it may need to use the new Migration Advisory Committee to help influence quotas
- Marketplace changes - such as how immigration and asylum legal services are funded, who pays for them, and who is eligible to supply them - may have an impact on future provision in Scotland
22. An examination of alternative sources of service provision has found that, while it would be possible to use other providers to undertake some of the IAS's transactional work, for example general advice provision and asylum casework, there are disadvantages in doing so. These include potential capacity issues in Scotland in the short-term, and the loss of the breadth of experience that IAS currently is able to bring to the immigration and asylum arena at both Scottish and UK levels.
23. Other elements of IAS services would be much more difficult to transfer. Transferring IAS immigration services to other providers would be problematic - there is limited capacity in the marketplace, and IAS is currently recognised as having in-depth expertise. The "added value" work that IAS also provides to Scotland, such as the IAS Scottish Advisory Committee, support of the Relocation Advisory Service, work with unaccompanied asylum seeking children and support of the Cross Party Group on Refugees and Asylum seekers would be very difficult to replicate.
24. In terms of funding, the new Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill has several implications for the provision of legal services in Scotland, including increasing the potential supply of non-solicitors providing immigration and asylum advice, and giving the Scottish Legal Aid Board more flexibility to target funds to where they are most needed. It could also be used as a mechanism to fund IAS in the future. Careful consideration should be given to any change in funding mechanisms for IAS, however, as the current Scottish Executive funding mechanism gives the organisation flexibility to offer new services and provide added value in addition to its "transactional" role.
Conclusions
25. Based on our findings, we conclude that IAS in Scotland provides a quality service that gives good value for money to the Scottish Executive.
26. With its specialist immigration and asylum expertise, and the added value that it provides both directly and through the national organisation, the value of the IAS in Scotland is greater than the sum of its individual transactions.
27. Based on our observations, IAS in Scotland delivers value for money to the Scottish Executive which goes beyond its provision of transactional services. If the Scottish Executive chooses to review its funding mechanisms, it must consider the risk that it could lose the intangible benefits that IAS brings.