The Ministry of Justice was a relative winner in the Autumn Budget. But if you take a longer view, the department has really taken a beating. It’s done worse than the average department, worse than the average ‘unprotected’ department, and it spends less now than it did 20 years ago. [thread]
1 / 2
Comments
Despite recent funding injections, the budget cuts of the 2010s were so severe that the total Ministry of Justice budget is set to be no higher in 2025–26 than it was in 2005–06. The economy is 27% bigger, the population 16% bigger, but spending is no higher.
Lots of departments faced budget cuts in the 2010s. But the cuts to justice were especially steep. If the justice budget had grown in line with the average ‘unprotected’ department since 2007/08, it would be 9% (£1.0 billion) higher this year.