The Committee's report examines the Government's proposed changes to the system of legal aid payments in asylum appeal cases in England and Wales, under the draft Community Legal Service (Asylum and Immigration) Regulations 2005 (ISBN 0110723015). Issues discussed include: the introduction of a system of retrospective funding, the merits test, and the implications of the new system for solicitors offering legal aid services. Conclusions reached include that the merits test will have to be set at a lower level if the system of retrospective funding is introduced, to ensure that appellants and suppliers are not to be disadvantaged, since the legal aid system should not be used to restrict legitimate appeals.