Refugee And Migrant Justice Charity

EDM number 191 in 2010-12, proposed by Caroline Lucas on 09/06/2010.
Categorised under the topics of Asylum, Charities, Immigration and Legal aid.

That this House notes that the legal advice charity Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) is in danger of closing because it is facing a cash crisis because a large proportion of legal aid work is now paid upon completion, meaning payment can take anything up to two years; further notes that as a result the charity has a £1.8 million backlog of payments; further notes that senior legal and human rights experts, faith leaders including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Citizens Advice, Liberty and Mind all back the campaign to rescue the legal advice charity from the cash crisis that is not of their own making; is aware that RMJ is not asking for new money but simply prompt payment of legal aid by the Legal Services Commission, or failing that, interest-free loans by the Government to cover the gap; and calls for the legal aid payment system to be changed to ensure charities are paid promptly for their work.

This motion has been signed by a total of 86 MPs, 1 of these signatures have been withdrawn.