UK Civil news: changes to immigration advice in police stations

A new service to provide immigration advice to individuals detained in police stations launched on 1 June 2022

Individuals detained in police custody under immigration powers have a new service to access legal advice, starting on 1 June 2022, according to the government website.

The Immigration Police Station Advice (IPSA) service is replacing the Immigration Telephone Advice (ITA) service.

What does this mean for providers?  The change is likely to mean more work for face to face immigration providers.

Providers calling the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC) will also notice a change in the options they are presented with before connecting to an operator. When calling the DSCC on 0345 7500 620 you will need to press option 2 if you want to log immigration police station work.

Why is this happening now?
We need to ensure there is a new service to continue helping individuals detained in police custody under immigration powers. This is replacing the ITA contract which came to an end on 31 May 2022.

How will the new service work?
Detainees will be entitled to call-backs under the IPSA service to help them understand:

• what may happen next
• likely detention timescales
• how to access their nearest face to face immigration solicitor
• Clients will then have the option of contacting a solicitor for legal advice. They may decide to do that while still in detention or following release from police custody.

If the client has special needs, such as translation services, the operator will arrange for this in advance of the call-back.

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