Townend: Change of direction vital
Funding for justice has fallen by over 22% in real terms per person since 2010, even thought it represents “small change” in the public finances, a report for the Bar Council has found.
Sam Townend KC, chair of the Bar Council, said that with a spending review approaching, “we are asking the government to rethink the approach to justice spending.”
Researchers said public spending on justice amounted to £10.9bn in 2022/23, around 0.5% of GDP or £181 per person, similar to spending on overseas aid.
This compares with spending of £640 per person on transport, £820 on defence and £1,550 on education.
“A question that naturally arises is whether the decline in justice spending has been planned and justified and, if so, on what basis.
“The suspicion from many of those who are a part of the system is that justice has been short changed because it is treated as a residual component of spending.”
Although the period since 2018/19 had been one of “substantial economic challenges” for the government, researchers said that over that period there has been an increase in cash funding of 12.6% for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
However, once the effects of inflation are factored in, this equates to a cut of 15.4%.
Adding in the impact of population growth, “we can see that funding for justice has fallen by 22.4%”.
The report, Justice short changed, was written by Professor Martin Chalkley and Alice Chalkley. Professor Chalkley, an economics professor at York University, has regularly advised the Bar Council and MoJ.
They found that, between 2009/2010 and 2022/23, spending on legal aid fell by just under 40% in real terms, on prisons and probation by 23% and the CPS and SFO by 24%.
The courts and tribunals were on a similar “downward trajectory” until 2016 and the court reform programme, the overall cost of which was around £1.3bn and is due to complete next year – “although there are still uncertainties both about the final timing and ultimate scope” of the changes.
While spending on courts and tribunals had increased by 36% from 2009/10 to 2022/23, the courts were “different in that they receive the fees that they charge users, and they provide a lot of services for the private economy”, which made interpreting accounts difficult and meant the figures they used did not “tell the whole story”.
The authors said spending on social security and health now accounted for over £3,000 per person.
“Compared with the very big spending areas of health, education and social security, justice spending is small change. In terms of other areas, it also appears very modest.”
There was “a case to be made” for treating spending on the justice system in the same way as defence, which was fixed because of the UK’s commitment to NATO at 2% of GDP, or overseas aid, which had previously been fixed at 0.7% but had now fallen to 0.5%.
“It is reasonable to expect the justice system to grow to meet the increasing requirements that come from economic growth.
“That suggests that the default position could be for funding for justice to grow in line with real GDP per person and that deviations from that default should be justified and evidence-based.”
Mr Townend KC said the findings were not as a surprise: “We know the scale of the problem and that, without a change in direction, things will only get worse.
“With the spending review coming up we are asking the government to rethink the approach to justice spending. The system needs investment now and a restoration of funding for long-term sustainability.
“When justice is short changed, every citizen seeking to vindicate their rights is short changed. We hope the new government recognises this.”
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