News focus: More budget blues for the MoJ

A £55m cash injection into the family justice system was not enough to generate enthusiasm among lawyers for chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s spring budget this week. A ‘missed opportunity’, a ‘drop in the ocean’ and ‘nowhere near enough’ were among the reactions from professional bodies.

Announcing a headline investment figure for modernising justice, the chancellor observed in his speech: ‘Too many legal cases, particularly in family law, should never go to court and it would cost us less if they didn’t. So we will spend £170m to fund non-court resolution, reduce reoffending and digitise the court process.’

However, the Treasury’s budget ‘red book’ reveals that this sum breaks down into £55m for the family courts ‘to offer online targeted guidance and earlier legal advice, shortening wait times and supporting families through non-court dispute resolution’. Of the rest, £100m is for rehabilitative activities in prisons and £15m ‘to introduce digital solutions, reducing administrative burdens in the courts’.

Meanwhile, departmental spending figures show a planned 4.8% cut in operational spending on justice to £10bn in 2024/25, from £10.5bn in 2023/24. Among the opportunities identified for savings is ‘spend on first-class post’. Capital spending, however, will rise by 20% from £1.5bn this year to £1.8bn in 2024/25.

Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: ‘We are pleased that some funding has been allocated, but it is nowhere near enough.’ He also welcomed the investment in early legal advice, stating such advice ‘will help families get the justice that’s right for them, whether it’s mediation, litigation or non-court dispute resolution. Having the conversation early could mean a dispute is settled sooner, at lower cost and with less distress for the family.’

However he pointed out that the family court system ‘continues to face an uphill battle, with backlogs and delays still prevalent’.

Emmerson was particularly critical of the government’s failure to pledge any new funding for criminal legal aid. ‘This is despite the Law Society’s recent High Court victory, where the court warned of bleak consequences for criminal justice if the government does not inject significant further sums of money into the system.’

'The justice system is creaking at the seams, and this includes magistrates’ courts, which hear over 90% of all criminal case'

Tom Franklin, Magistrates’ Association

Chancery Lane’s verdict was echoed by bar chair Sam Townend KC. ‘The money announced for family courts and criminal justice today is welcome, but it is a drop in the ocean in terms of what the justice sector really needs to get back to working order after years of underinvestment,’ Townend said. ‘Court buildings are crumbling, solicitors and barristers are burned out, and victims and defendants are left in the backlogs. Justice delays lead to injustice.

‘On the day that the senior presiding judge rightly announced a push to hear the 181 rape cases that have been delayed for over two years [see page 8], it is vital that the system is properly funded so that public confidence in justice can be restored.’

Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates’ Association, described the budget as a ‘missed opportunity’.

‘While the extra money announced – as part of new plans for public sector productivity – is welcome, all parts of the justice system, from the provision of court legal advisers and probation officers, to the dire state of our court buildings, need considerable new investment,’ he said. ‘The justice system is creaking at the seams, and this includes magistrates’ courts, which hear over 90% of all criminal cases. Without properly investing in justice, a bad situation is going to get worse.’

Measures in the spring budget, likely to be the last before the general election, also included:

• A doubling of the Economic Crime (anti-money laundering) Levy payable by large businesses from £250,000 to £500,000 per year. ‘This is a response to lower-than-expected receipts, and additional revenue will be used to deliver existing commitments on economic crime.’
• £10m additional funding for digitising jury bundles in the criminal courts, reducing paper wastage and unnecessary trial delays.
• Piloting the use of artificial intelligence to support planning authorities to streamline their local plan development processes, ‘producing plans in 30 months rather than the current average of seven years’.

Emmerson concluded: ‘Too frequently it is said that justice is not a priority for this government, but we would hope recent events will call for reflection on how it supports our courts systems. The public do care about justice and are vocal about when it is lacking. Our justice system can no longer be ignored and we urge the government to properly invest so the public can have confidence in it.’

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