'Need has never been greater' — Huge £3.9 million grant scheme for Scottish legal advice organisations announced

The Access to Justice Foundation has announced a new £3.9 million grants programme that will support advice organisations in Scotland.

The scheme will be using unclaimed funds from the Gutmann v SW Trains case (Boundary Fare class action), and will be directed to communities where access to free legal advice is most in demand.

This Improving Lives Through Advice 2026 project from Access to Justice Foundation marks the first programme of its kind redistributing unclaimed class action funds in the UK.

The money available in Scotland is in the form of three-year unrestricted grants.

The grants will primarily be made using £3.7 million in unclaimed settlement funds from the Gutmann v SW Trains case (Boundary Fare class action). The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) decided to award these funds to the ATJF last year, commenting in its ruling that the money “could make a huge difference in facilitating access to justice for the needy and vulnerable”.

Clare Carter, CEO of Access to Justice Foundation, said: “Across Scotland, people's capacity to exercise their legal rights is severely compromised by lack of access to legal help.

"As Scotland's communities face mounting financial pressures, unmanageable debt, and psychological distress, long-term funding of advice services is crucial.

"This programme allows us to channel funds into frontline advice organisations, helping communities get the support they need. And the need has never been greater.”

The Access to Justice Foundation believes there are 122 Scottish communities currently without direct access to a legal aid firm.

Although legal assistance spending in Scotland reached £169 million in 2024–25, the number of solicitors providing civil legal aid fell from 1,041 to 984 over the same period.

Applications for grants will open at 12pm on 16 February 2026 and close at 12pm on 16 March 2026, with grants due to commence in June 2026.