Funding for justice is almost a third lower than where it would be if it had kept up with UK inflation, population and economic growth, a report for the Bar Council has found.

The report, Justice short changed: Public funding of the justice system in England and Wales, notes funding fell by 22.4% in ‘real per person terms’ from 2009/10 to 2022/23 despite an increase of overall government spending by 10% during the same period.

In 2022/23, funding for justice was £181 per person, less than what was spent on defence (£820 per person), education (£1,550 per person) or transport (£640 per person). Spending on justice was ‘on a par’ with spending on overseas aid, the report said. 

According to the report, justice spending would be at more than £259.6 per person had it kept pace with the economy - a shortfall of £79 per person. It means funding for justice is 30.4% below where it would be if it had kept pace.

The report, commissioned by the Bar Council and written by Professor Martin Chalkley and Alice Chalkley, said: ‘In order for justice spending to have been constant in real per person terms, an additional £2bn would have been needed to be spent in 2022/23. Within this person, total government spending was £1,154.9bn.’

Bar chair Sam Townend KC said the fall in spending ‘will not come as a surprise to all those who work within the justice system’. He added that public funding for justice ‘got a raw deal’ and ‘by failing to keep pace with the economy, by 2022/23 justice spending was £3.5bn behind where it should have been’.

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He added: ‘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.

‘To keep cutting justice spending in real terms is a false economy. 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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