In a surprise announcement to Parliament yesterday, justice minister Sir Oliver Herald confirmed that the Ministry of Justice has retreated on increases to immigration tribunal fees. From today, all applicants will be charged at the previous fee levels, with all those who have paid the higher fees set to receive refunds. The backtrack comes after the increases were met with heavy opposition during a public consultation on the new fee regime. The ministry’s consultation response document reveals that only five out of 147 respondents voiced support for the fee increases.

Ensuring equal access

Law Society chief executive Catherine Dixon welcomed the retreat: ‘The Law Society vigorously opposed the fee increases because equal access to justice is more important than income generation when it comes to setting court and tribunal fees. We note the government is now embarking on a wider review of tribunal fees which we welcome and we will be monitoring that process carefully.’

£800 oral hearings

First announced back in April and implemented in September, the changes lifted the cost of an on-paper application to the first-tier tribunal from £80 to £410, and from £140 to £800 for application for an oral hearing. Applications for permission to appeal to the upper tribunal were priced at £455 a pop, while a further £510 fee was required when such permission was granted. The move was designed to raise around £37m per year for the MoJ, based on the rationale that it was ‘no longer reasonable’ for taxpayers to be footing around 75 per cent of the costs associated with immigration tribunal hearings.

Sources: Law Society Gazette; The Guardian