The PAP Project is an innovative project where front line organisations are provided with training and supervision by DPG solicitors to enable them to prepare formal pre-action letters to challenge decisions made by or on behalf of Government. DPG solicitors check the draft letters before they are submitted to public authorities. In many cases, those pre-action letters are successful in securing action to assist vulnerable persons. Where further legal action is required, DPG solicitors are able to assist or signpost the case to other specialist solicitors.

For the three years to October 2024 whilst the Project was funded by the Baring Foundation and the Access to Justice Foundation, it enrolled over 1,000 users from around 250 organisations onto our free e-learning training, it reviewed more than 1,000 Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) letters drafted by these users, and as a result successfully challenged a significant number of unlawful decisions from a range of public bodies, thereby helping countless claimants through the project.

Alongside many successful individual PAP letters, the past three years have seen several significant challenges from the PAP Project gain media attention. These cases have had a far-reaching positive impact on the legal sector and local communities. One notable example is a case taken on by DPG following a PAP letter written through the project, which led to a change in the law affecting thousands of pregnant women and parents with children under three years old living in hotels. This case was reported by The Guardian.

Another impactful case, following a PAP written through the PAP Project, successfully challenged the Home Office’s plan to relocate an asylum-seeking family away from their local community. The case gained further traction when hundreds of local residents campaigned against the relocation, as reported here.

Other significant cases connected to the project include those addressing delays in relocating pregnant women from hotel accommodation. Evidence from the PAP Project, documenting 25 similar cases, demonstrated that government action often only occurred after PAP letters were submitted. This revealed a systemic issue resulting from Home Office failings, which the High Court determined to be unlawful, as reported here.

The PAP Project is increasingly recognised as a key part of the response to the government’s aggressive stance toward migrants over recent years. As a result of the project, Polly Glynn was invited on two occasions to give evidence to the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, in October 2020 and January 2023. The PAP Project has not only made a profound difference for the individuals the letters are written on behalf of but has also been widely beneficial to the legal sector and surrounding migrant communities.

More details and how to get involved can be found on the PAP website. Here's a short film about the project.

The PAP Project is now funded by the A B Charitable Trust.