The government is to press ahead with increases of up to 500% in court fees for immigration and asylum cases, despite a consultation in which all but five of 147 responses opposed the move.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) confirmed the decision on Thursday, saying it was grateful for the responses to the consultation, but the policy remained that, where fees were charged to access public services, they should be set at such a level to recover the full cost.
The decision means that fees for an application to the first-tier tribunal dealing with immigration and asylum cases will increase from £80 to £490 for “a decision on the papers,” and from £140 to £800 for an oral hearing.
Fees are to be introduced for the first time for appeals to the upper tribunal: £350 for applications and £510 for the appeal hearing.
The ministry’s response to the consultation estimates that the charges will raise £34m a year on top of the £7m brought in annually by existing fees. This compares with estimated annual running costs of £86m for both tribunals.
Ministers have made one concession as a result of the consultation. Immigration and asylum applicants who have already been assessed as destitute by the Home Office will not have to pay the tribunal fees. Existing exemptions, such as for those on asylum support or people who already qualify for legal aid, will continue to apply.
The Law Centres Network said the rises were disgraceful and meant that asylum seekers faced “whopping” fees.
The Public and Commercial Services Union said: “It is utterly reprehensible that this government is pressing ahead with a 500% increase in tribunal fees, despite overwhelming opposition from law firms, judges, professional bodies, charities and unions.”
But the MoJ said the fee increases would secure the funding of immigration and asylum tribunals, while “protecting access to justice and the most vulnerable appellants through extension of the fee exemption scheme”.
The fee increases for first-tier tribunals were to be implemented as soon as possible, followed by those for the upper tribunal.
A separate MoJ consultation paper, titled transforming our justice system, published on Thursday, contains a commitment to continue the former justice secretary Michael Gove’s programme of introducing US-style problem-solving courts.
“We are exploring the opportunities for problem-solving methods further with the judiciary and collecting the evidence base,” it said. “We are continuing to trial this approach in locations across the UK.”
However, the paper was coupled with an announcement that two more magistrates courts in London, Hammersmith and Camberwell Green, were to close.
The Labour MP and former justice minister Andy Slaughter said the closure of the Hammersmith court would “increase the travel and waiting times for users who will now have to travel to magistrates courts on the other side of London, something that is particularly troubling for those on modest means and those with reduced mobility”.
However, the MoJ’s initiative to allow victims and witnesses to provide cross-examinations that were pre-recorded outside court was welcomed by Citizens Advice.
“For victims and witnesses of crime, giving evidence in court can be a daunting experience,” said the Citizens Advice chief executive, Gillian Guy. “Some witnesses are understandably anxious about the prospect of attending court in person and going through cross-examination. Reliving what may have been a traumatic event in front of the defendant as well as the judiciary can be particularly stressful, especially for victims of crime.”
