- Extra £2.2 billion in Spending Review to drive recovery in
courts, prisons and probation
- £550 million to cut reoffending and protect the public
- £185 million a year to boost victim support services
A 12 percent boost to the department’s budget will see £11.5
billion invested by the end of this parliament, delivering
commitments to cut crime and build back confidence in justice –
with an extra £2.2 billion to aid recovery in the courts, prisons
and probation services.
An extra £550 million will be invested over the next 3 years to
rehabilitate offenders and protect the public – getting
ex-prisoners into work and keeping them off the streets to tackle
the root causes of crime.
The money will help accelerate the extensive work already
underway to recover from the unprecedented impact of the
pandemic, while delivering a more efficient and modern justice
system.
More than £1 billion has been allocated to boost capacity and
accelerate post-pandemic recovery. This includes £477 million
that has been secured to help deliver the swift access to justice
that victims deserve – improving waiting times and reducing court
backlogs.
Crucially, victim support services will see £185 million in
annual funding by 2024-25. This will fund more than 1,000
Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors and 24/7 crisis
helplines and is an 85% increase on funding in 2019/20.
In addition, £3.5 billion will fund the MOJ’s commitment to
create 18,000 additional prison places - the biggest
prison-building programme in more than a century. A further £250
million will fund an extra 2,000 temporary prison places.
Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister said:
The pandemic created unprecedented challenges but this settlement
is the largest increase in more than a decade for the justice
system. That means we can focus on building a better, more
efficient, justice system for all.
The extra investment will help us protect the public by bringing
criminals to justice quicker, reducing stubborn reoffending rates
and supporting victims better than ever before.
The settlement includes a further £324 million over the next 3
years to improve timeliness in civil and family courts and
tribunals. £200 million will complete the flagship £1.3 billion
court-reform programme, fulfilling our commitment to a justice
system that takes advantage of technology and moves more court
processes to quicker and safer online platforms.
The Spending Review will also boost access to justice for
millions by expanding the eligibility thresholds for legal aid in
civil cases - such as deciding child maintenance arrangements.
The MOJ will set out plans for criminal legal aid following the
ongoing independent review which is due to report back soon.
