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‘Hefty’ spending rises for British justice

British chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to “begin to repair” the country’s justice system, announcing what the Law Society Gazette of England and Wales described as “hefty real-terms spending increases” for the next two years.

The Ministry of Justice’s day-to-day budget will climb from Stg £10.4 billion in 2023-24 to £11 billion this year, and is forecast to rise to £11.8 billion in 2025-26.

This amounts to average annual inflation-adjusted growth of 4.3% from 2023-24 to 2025-26, according to the Autumn Budget Report laid before the House of Commons.

Investment package

The Gazette says that the rise in capital spending is larger still, as the ministry scrambles to supply more prison places.

Capital spending will rise from £1.5 billion in 2023-24 to £1.8 billion this year and £2 billion in 2025-26. This amounts to an average real increase of 14.9% from 2023-24 to 2025-26.

According to the budget report, the package includes:

• £2.3 billion of investment in prison expansion over 2024-25 and 2025-26, ensuring thousands of new prison places over the next two years,
• A minimum £500 million extra investment across prisons and probation in 2025-26 to recruit thousands of new prison and probation staff,
• £220 million for prison and probation-service maintenance in 2024-25 and up to £300 million in 2025-26, and
• 106,500 Crown Court sitting days in 2024-25, with a pledge to “work closely with the senior judiciary” to set court capacity in 2025-26.

Legal aid highlighted

The Law Society of England and Wales welcomed the investment, but warned that increased funding across the system was needed to avoid collapse. It noted that the budget made no mention of civil and criminal legal aid.

“What remains uncertain is whether the vital funding needed in civil and criminal legal aid and to address growing court backlogs will be forthcoming,” said Law Society president Richard Atkinson.

“Rebuilding the justice system will not be possible unless there is sustained investment in all parts of it – including legal aid and courts, not just prisons and probation,” he added.