Extra funding (£4 million this year instead of the £3 million in previous years) has been made available for front line organisations supporting vulnerable people with navigating the legal system and who don't have legal representation. Housing, welfare and debt disputes are included in the support criteria and the philosophy behind the scheme is that, wherever possible, the support should help people avoid the need to actually go to court by resolving an issue before the legal proceeding stage with "early intervention" being the watchwords. However, if a matter has got to the court hearing stage support can include helping a person navigate the requirements of the legal system for those who are unable to access legal representation and who thus have to fall back on representing themselves.

The ministry of justice points out that this scheme follows on from proposals that will see an extra 2 million people able to access legal aid. The extra funding is grant based and is available to charities and organisations providing legal help. Financial thresholds for an individual's ability to access support have been raised for both income and capital and where shared property assets are in dispute such assets will not count towards the threshold thus helping more victims of domestic abuse.

The scheme is run by the ministry in partnership with the Access to Justice Foundation and ATJF grants can be applied for here.