Compass: Asylum Aid’s Adviser Development Programme

BY MICHAEL WHITE

In response to the legal aid crisis that is leaving some of the most vulnerable people in our society with no access to specialist legal advice, Asylum Aid has developed Compass, a bespoke training and supervision programme for Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) regulated organisations and advisers. Drawing on Asylum Aid’s significant expertise delivering legal representation to refugees with highly complex cases, this free programme prioritises organisations in ‘advice deserts’ who want to deliver casework in complex asylum, human rights and trafficking cases. Michael White, Asylum Aid’s Asylum and Immigration Supervisor, explains how it works.

Sector in Crisis

“In England and Wales there is a gap of at least 57 percent between legal aid provision and eligible asylum legal aid need. That deficit has grown substantially from around 17 percent at the time of the first report in 2022. Every region within England and Wales now has a legal aid deficit, including London, which had a very small surplus at the time of the first report.” [No Access to Justice 2: Mapping the UK’s continuing immigration and asylum legal advice crisis by Dr Jo Wilding

For refugees and people seeking asylum, the consequences of having no access to legal advice are devastating. In some areas of the country legal aid services are virtually non-existent, resulting in advice deserts. Without legal representation, individuals struggle to resolve their immigration cases, often resulting in housing instability, poverty, and deteriorating mental and physical health. This deepens the marginalisation of some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

At the same time, the sector is under immense strain. A severe shortage of qualified immigration advisers, combined with difficulties in recruiting and retaining experienced professionals, means grassroots organisations are constantly firefighting. They lack capacity to train and supervise new caseworkers, leaving many advisers working in isolation. Newly qualified staff are frequently thrown in at the deep end, without the opportunity to build confidence or skills, leading to widespread burnout across an already overstretched sector.

A response to the lack of access to advice

As a levelling-up solution to the severe lack of specialised legal advice, Asylum Aid, in partnership with the Justice Together Initiative, has developed Compass, a pilot programme of training, supervision and peer support for IAA regulated immigration advisers working across England and Wales. By training and empowering grassroot organisations, many of which are geographically isolated and cannot afford training budgets, the aim of the programme is to cultivate a new generation of specialist immigration advisers who feel supported beyond the life of the programme and are, in turn, and in time, able to supervise staff in their own organisations.

How the programme works

The programme is aimed at IAA level 2 advisers who want to be more confident in their ability to tackle more complex asylum, human rights and trafficking cases. Asylum Aid also provides assistance to managers in the participating organisations to help them develop procedures and processes that support the delivery of complex casework.

There have been three cohorts of trainees since the programme was established in 2023. Each cohort consists of up to five trainees and lasts for 12 months.

The training element is delivered both in-person and online, with two weeks of in-person training on non-consecutive weeks and additional online training sessions during the first three months. The training covers Refugee, Human Rights and Trafficking law, but also practical casework skills such as:

how to take instructions in a trauma-informed way;
drafting witness statements;
drafting persuasive legal representations; and
how to instruct experts.

Funding is available to cover travel and accommodation for any trainees who require it to attend the in-person sessions.

Trainees are provided with both remote and in-person shadowing opportunities alongside Asylum Aid staff. Following this, they receive supervision from an experienced Asylum Aid supervisor. This includes:

weekly 1:1 sessions;
checking of written work;
assistance with cases, including their strategic direction.

The intensive supervision phase lasts for three months, followed by a further six months of more light touch supervision.

The programme also offers valuable network-building opportunities between trainees and organisations, as well as remote monthly clinical supervision.

Since the launch of the programme in 2023, Asylum Aid has trained 15 advisers from ten organisations in advice deserts across England and Wales, including Cornwall, South Yorkshire, and Cardiff.

Results

Since the launch of the pilot, participants have reported an increase in confidence in dealing with complex cases and an ability to take on cases they would not have previously been able to. They have also reported an increased motivation to continue to work in the sector and have shared their learning with other staff and volunteers in their organisations.

As part of the pilot, Asylum Aid has a learning partner who has been instrumental in helping evaluate the success of the project. Feedback so far includes:

“This has been a pivotal moment in my career. It’s been a total game changer – it’s given me confidence, it’s given me a network, I feel like I’m part of something. And obviously it’s been demanding but the flexibility shown and the support we’ve had from everybody has allowed it, and made it so worth it.” – Cohort 1 trainee

“I whole-heartedly see a need for this programme, because I don’t see it happening elsewhere and I don’t know how people would learn otherwise… it’s been personally speaking a career-changing and life changing experience for me, but for the organisation as w[e]ll it’s going to be a milestone in changing the kind of work w[e] do”.– Cohort 2 participant

The intensive supervision has assisted trainees in how to plan and conduct complex casework. The trainees gained skills and confidence in specific elements of case conduct, such as writing witness statements, representations and advice letters.

Asylum Aid has also learnt a great deal throughout the programme. The model of training, shadowing and supervision is successful. Asylum Aid has been able to modify and develop the programme to make it more effective. Participants really appreciate the training sessions in a small group where they are able to explore concepts, ask questions and share experiences in a way that is not possible in larger training groups. The in-person element is very important. This does involve some time commitment but being able to train with others face-to-face has enabled the trainees to get to know each other and foster a peer support network, crucial for mitigating burnout.

Asylum Aid learning outcomes to date

Organisational and management support

Asylum Aid has learnt that in addition to training and supervising individuals, supporting organisations and managers is also very important for the success of the programme. It is vital for organisations to develop processes and procedures to support complex casework. Asylum Aid has developed training on file management and has shared Asylum Aid’s office procedures with participating organisations.

Representing people in complex cases takes time. Running open access services has been the cornerstone of some organisations’ approach. However complex casework requires some degree of triage and prioritisation. The programme has helped organisations begin to think through the implications of conducting complex casework.

Importance of Legal Aid

Most of the organisations Asylum Aid has worked with on the programme have not had a Legal Aid contract. One of Asylum Aid’s biggest learning points is the importance of Legal Aid to complex casework. Voluntary and not-for-profit organisations struggle to fund the basic necessities, such as professional interpreters, without Legal Aid. Also, many complex cases need expert country, medico-legal, and other reports that are generally prohibitively expensive without a Legal Aid contract.

Asylum Aid is therefore particularly keen to support organisations who are new to Legal Aid or have an intention to apply for a Legal Aid contract.

The bureaucratic and administrative burden of a legal aid contract can be off-putting to organisations. Asylum Aid has assisted organisations with the requirements of obtaining a Legal Aid contract and also given training to participants on the Legal Aid contract specifications and fee schemes. Asylum Aid has helped organisations develop their procedures so that they are compliant with Legal Aid requirements. With the help of others in the sector Asylum Aid is keen to develop this further.

What next?

Asylum Aid is currently advertising for applicants for the fourth cohort of trainees with a start date in February 2026. More details can be found here.

Asylum Aid is happy to answer any questions about the programme for anyone who is interested. Please contact Michael White michael.white@asylumaid.org.uk

Michael White is Asylum and Immigration Supervisor at Asylum Aid, a leading refugee legal charity that promotes and advances the rights of refugees, people seeking asylum, and vulnerable migrants. For over 35 years it has been providing free legal representation to some of the most vulnerable people seeking asylum and is one of the few charities that specialises in working with unaccompanied children and young survivors of trafficking, torture and war.

ILPA invites members and other leading experts to contribute articles to its monthly blog. The views expressed in all blog posts are the authors’ own and are not necessarily those of ILPA.