What level of legal aid is available to individuals and communities wishing to bring cases against polluters.

Under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986, legal aid can be made available only to individuals not to community groups or communities. Cases against polluters may involve either civil or criminal action.
Individuals and communities cannot bring criminal prosecutions. Criminal prosecutions can only be brought by Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service as it has the sole responsibility for instituting criminal prosecutions in Scotland. Prosecutions may arise from reports by outside organisations with statutory responsibility for matters in relation to pollution. Criminal legal aid may be available for any person who is the subject of such a prosecution.
Civil legal aid may be made available to an individual if the three statutory tests of financial eligibility, probable cause and reasonableness are met as is the case with any civil legal aid application.
Further statutory considerations apply to civil legal aid applications if there are others that have a joint interest in the proceedings. The Scottish Legal Aid Board can grant civil legal aid only if the refusal of legal aid would cause severe prejudice to the individual applicant and it would not be reasonable to expect others that might have an interest in the action to defray the costs that otherwise fall to be paid under the grant of civil legal aid.