Deadline: 25-Jan-23
Applications are now open for the Strategic Legal Fund (SLF), a fund to support legal work in the UK that goes beyond securing justice for an individual and makes a significant contribution to law, practice and procedures to uphold and promote the rights of people seeking asylum, refugees and migrants more generally.
The SLF aims to tackle injustices and inconsistencies in law and practice that disadvantage or discriminate against asylum seekers, refugees and migrants as a result of their migration status.
The SLF is an initiative delivered by The Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) in partnership with Trust for London, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Unbound Philanthropy, and Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
The SLF funds strategic legal work in any area of law where asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants experience disadvantage or discrimination as a result of migration status. This includes (but is not restricted to) potential cases in the areas of:
- Immigration.
- Asylum and asylum support.
- Human rights.
- Education.
- Housing.
- Welfare benefits.
- Discrimination.
- Access to justice.
- Community care.
Funding Information
- Maximum funding for any one application will be £30,000 but, in view of the limited funding available, lower applications are encouraged. The average grant size is around £12,000.
- The maximum grant length is 12 months, and most grants are for six months or less.
Beneficiaries
The SLF supports strategic legal work in the UK which benefits asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. The SLF defines this as those:
- Who are living in poverty, and
- Who face significant disadvantage or discrimination in connection with their immigration status.
Eligibility Criteria
- Those eligible to apply to the SLF are organisations based in the UK which are:
- Not-for-profit (NFP) organisations that provide specialist level legal advice to people discriminated or disadvantaged by their migration status. If you work for a NFP organisation regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) and are applying to undertake work in the asylum or immigration field, you must confirm that staff leading on the proposed work are accredited at Level 3, Advocacy and Representation, in the relevant category of law.
- Firms of solicitors that provide specialist level legal advice to people discriminated or disadvantaged by their migration status. Solicitors’ firms need to demonstrate that the funded work does not include any element of profit and that there is a pro bono element included.
- All applicants must demonstrate that staff has appropriate skills, experience and expertise to undertake the strategic legal work proposed. All applicants are asked to provide supporting documents with their application, for example annual accounts, governing documents, or other financial information.
Exclusions
In general, the SLF will not make grants where:
- Funding is sought for pre-litigation research on an issue where work is already in progress by other legal representatives.
- There is an unreasonably low prospect of a positive outcome for migrant groups.
- The funding will not produce any significant positive change to the rights of vulnerable asylum seekers, refugees or migrants in the UK.
- The applicant is based outside of the UK. Partnership applications where the lead partner is based in the UK may be considered.
- It is judged that the goals of the application may be more successfully achieved through an alternative route e.g. policy work.
- Organisations have already received two grants from the SLF in the last 18 months, except in exceptional circumstances.
- Organisations are in serious financial deficit.
- Not-for-profit organisations have significant unrestricted reserves (including designated funds). Generally, reserves up to the equivalent of six months’ expenditure is acceptable.
For more information, visit Strategic Legal Fund.
