Speakers:

Christine Benson

Christine Benson joined Maternity Action as the Senior Legal Officer for the Immigration and Asylum team in January 2019. She is a solicitor specialising in asylum and human rights law and has worked in the sector since 2002. Christine manages a team of advisers who provide advice and representation to women wrongly charged for their NHS maternity care.

Prior to joining Maternity Action, Christine was a solicitor at Islington Law Centre working on a strategic litigation project around the European refugee crisis and wider issues stemming from the SSHD’s failure to reunite children in refugee camps with their families under the Dublin III regulations.

Christine is an experienced trainer and regularly delivers ILPA training courses on NHS charging. She has written articles on NHS charging and co-authored Maternity Action’s recent report, Breach of Trust.

Previously, Christine spent many years as a practising solicitor at Wilson Solicitors LLP, specialising in Middle Eastern asylum claims representing members of proscribed organisations, with a focus on survivors of torture.

Sarah Beswick is a solicitor and has been part of Maternity Action since October 2019. She began her legal career in 2008, and has primarily specialised in immigration and asylum with experience also in the wider advice sector.

Prior to joining Maternity Action, Sarah worked for the Immigration Advice Service and has also supervised legal advice given within the Greater Manchester Refugee Support Partnership. She has provided introductory training on immigration law and NHS charging in England for staff and volunteers in third sector support organisations.

NHS Health Care & Charging: Rep Migrant Clients in the Hostile Environment