System Change

Influencing System Change – led by Lived Experience

One of our aims is to influence system change to tackle the root causes of the problems faced by people seeking asylum and refugees. We work with our members (the people we support), supporting them to feel empowered to take part in campaigning and system change, and have their voices heard. Our monthly Members Voice Group is a regular opportunity for members to tell us about what is important to them, inform priorities and influence change.

Meeting MPs

We support our members to meet their local MPs and tell them about the issues that impact their lives. Members meet MPs in person to influence change, often on specific policies, and also write letters.

Example: Members told us they wanted to respond to the rise in anti-immigration in a way that brings optimism and hope. They asked us to support them to write a letter to MPs as part of this response. They invited local MPs to meet with them. As a result MPs committed to taking the issues in the letter to Parliament after a member read out the letter.

Campaigns

We asked our members which local and national issues they wanted our systems change work to focus on. We held surveys and focus groups. They told us they wanted to prioritise:

• Local: Transport access – The Bus Pass Campaign
• National: Access to immigration advice – Improving Access to Legal Aid

The Bus Pass Campaign

The Bus Pass Campaign aims for bus travel to be free for everyone seeking sanctuary in Bristol and the wider WECA region.

We are working as part of a partnership with City of Sanctuary, Borderlands, Trauma Foundation South West and wider Bristol Refugee and Asylum Seeker Partnership (BRASP) partners to achieve better transport options for sanctuary seekers. Our role is to support refugees and asylum seekers to take part in the campaign, become active campaigners, receive training and improve confidence. We also work to remove barriers so our members can influence change.

The cost of transport is regularly cited as a significant barrier in daily life for many people facing severe poverty in and around Bristol.  A day bus pass costs £6.80 – this is two thirds of the standard weekly allowance that people seeking asylum living in a hotel receive (£9.95). This can force people into making impossible choices between essential journeys, such as taking a child to school and attending a medical appointment, and other essentials such as clothing or shoes for them and their children.

People sanctuary seeking want to be able to access services, travel around the city, integrate and feel part of their local community. A free bus travel scheme for people who need it most is a compassionate and practical solution that would make a life-changing difference. It’s a simple way to help people get back on their feet, reduce the threat of social isolation, build bridges in our communities and help people access the support they need to rebuild their lives.

People affected by this issue have shared that if the barriers to public transport were removed, they would use the bus to: take their children to school or crèche, travel to buy or collect food, attend legal and medical appointments, attend English classes, visit places of worship, a<>ccess support services, and volunteer at local charity organisations

For more information on the campaign, or to add your support, please contact: diana@bristol.cityofsanctuary.org

Improving access to legal aid

All people seeking asylum have to navigate complex legal systems. They are eligible for legal aid – meaning that they should be able to access a free legal representative. However, the immigration legal aid system is in crisis as there are not enough providers. Nationally around 50% of asylum seekers will have no representation throughout their asylum claim, but this is even worse in the South West which is recognised as a severe legal aid desert – it has the lowest level of local immigration and asylum legal aid provision in the UK. 90% of asylum seekers in the South West who are eligible for and need a legal aid lawyer for their case are not able to access one (Justice Together, 2025).

We are part of a partnership called the South West Immigration Alliance (SWIA) which aims to increase access to legal aid across the South West. We offer supported opportunities for our members to be involved with this project.

Over the last two years we have taken the following actions:

• We took part in the take your MP to work campaign with Bristol Law Centre. BRR members met directly with local MPs to explain the impact that a lack of access to an immigration legal aid solicitor had for them. MPs committed to taking these concerns back to Parliament.
• We have provided evidence and our members have provided witness testimonies to the Public Law Project (PLP) to support their legal challenge to the Lord Chancellor about the lack of access to legal aid in the South West. We have an ongoing relationship with PLP and continue to communicate with them about the issues our members are facing with the aim of making positive systemic changes to the immigration legal aid system.
• We are working to increase the amount of IAA (Immigration Advice Authority) regulated immigration advice we offer at BRR to fill some of the gaps left by the legal aid crisis.

Policy Consultations

Changes are frequently proposed to the asylum and immigration system. Many of these changes create an increasingly hostile environment which we actively oppose. We regularly take part in the consultations about policy proposals to ensure our members’ voices and our expertise on these issues is considered.

Other campaigns we support

We are members / active supporters of the following campaigns:

• Lift the Ban: Aims to give people seeking asylum the right to work.
• Together with Refugees: The largest pro-refugee coalition in British history which takes action for a fair, compassionate and well-managed plan for refugees.