Policy Insights: Access to Justice and the need for Civil Legal Aid Reform in Scotland
Published: 16 February 2026
16 February 2026: In a new Policy Insights piece, University of Glasgow experts Dr Jo Hynes, Fiona McPhail and Jack Smith, write about how legal aid should be reformed to strengthen access to justice in Scotland.
16 February 2026: In a new Policy Insights piece, University of Glasgow experts Dr Jo Hynes, Fiona McPhail and Jack Smith, write about how legal aid should be reformed to strengthen access to justice in Scotland.
In a new Policy Insights piece, University of Glasgow experts Dr Jo Hynes, Fiona McPhail and Jack Smith write that the legal aid sector in Scotland is at a ‘pivotal moment’, that provider capacity is rapidly shrinking as burnout and unsustainable fees bite, and people are finding it increasingly challenging to access legal advice to enforce their rights.
The authors say putting the legal aid sector on a sustainable footing will be urgent work for the incoming government in Scotland. They make recommendations for both short and long term reform, for how a shared vision for an accessible and sustainable legal aid system can be realised.
Read ‘Access to Justice and the need for Civil Legal Aid Reform in Scotland’ on our Outputs page
Policy Insights
The Centre for Public Policy’s ‘Policy Insights’ series gets into the detail of policy challenges facing Scotland, the UK and international communities, taking a longer-form approach compared to our regular blogs series.
It allows academic researchers from the University of Glasgow and beyond the opportunity and flexibility to provide more in-depth analysis into nuanced and multi-layered policy issues, offering solutions and ways forward.
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First published: 16 February 2026