By Monidipa Fouzder >>

(24 March 2026)

Organisations providing free legal advice submitted bids totalling £68 million for grants from a £4m pot largely made up of unclaimed cash from a class action settlement, the Access to Justice Foundation has revealed.

The foundation announced its latest grants programme in January after receiving £3.7m from the boundary fares class action. Other funding sources, such as pro bono costs orders, make up the rest of the pot.

The foundation is able to redistribute the class action cash because, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, it is the nominated recipient of unclaimed damages awarded in opt-out collective proceedings at the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

The three-year grant programme was developed with Advice UK, Age UK, Citizens Advice, Consumer Voice, Law Centres Network and consumer group Which?, with grants being awarded to organisations delivering services in London, the south east of England, Scotland and Wales. These regions were selected according to where members of the class action are based, the areas that face the most persistent gaps in access to free legal advice, and where few or no grants have been distributed.

The application window closed last week. Of the 314 applications received, 182 totalling £41m came from London, 92 totalling £21m came from the south east, 59 totalling £13m came from Scotland, and 45 totalling £10m came from Wales.

The foundation’s chief executive, Clare Carter, said: ‘£4m sounds like a lot of money but these figures show the serious funding shortfall for frontline organisations across the UK. These legal and consumer advice charities are often the only way people can understand and enforce their rights when it comes to debt, employment, education, housing and other basic rights. We’re therefore pleased to have the ability to distribute this money in an efficient and targeted way to ensure it makes an impact.’

(Courtesy: The Law Society Gazette)