Public funding for justice is down by 22.4% in real per person terms since 2009/10, according to new analysis of government spending under the last government published by the Bar Council.
Our new report ‘Justice short changed: Public funding of the justice system in England and Wales, 2009/10 to 2022/23’ calculates government spending on justice between 2009/10 and 2022/23. It was commissioned by the Bar Council and written by Professor Martin Chalkley MA PhD and Alice Chalkley MA LLM.
The key findings are:
- Public funding for justice in England and Wales declined by 22.4% in real per person terms from 2009/10 to 2022/23
- Over this period the UK economy grew by 11.5% and overall government spending increase ed by 10.1% in real per person terms
- Funding for justice is 30.4% below where it would be if it had kept pace with UK inflation, population growth and the economy
- Funding for justice in 2022/23 was £181 per person – around 0.5% of GDP; it was less than the spend on defence (£820 per person), education (£1,550 per person) or transport (£640 per person). It is on a par with spending on overseas aid
- 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 period, total government spending was £1,154.9bn
- For justice to have kept pace with the economy, an additional £3.5bn would have needed to be spent in 2022/23
