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. In response, the Chair of the Bar is restating the call for a restoration of justice spending.

The 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 analyses how this compares to other government departments and overall public spending.

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

The report was commissioned by the Bar Council to update the research in ‘Small change for justice’ published in 2020. The report’s authors, Professor Martin Chalkley and Alice Chalkley conclude: “By any measure there has been a very substantial reduction in the public funding of justice in England and Wales. That can be expected to have had a substantial impact on both the volume and quality of service that the system delivers.”

Commenting, Sam Townend KC, Chair of the Bar Council, said:

“Public funding for justice in England and Wales has fallen by more than a fifth over the 13 years to 2022. That will not come as a surprise to all those who work within the justice system. Crumbling court buildings, barristers and solicitors leaving publicly funded practice as fees have stagnated, swingeing cuts to legal aid leaving litigants in person struggling to represent themselves. And all of this exacerbates the chronic problem of court backlogs.

“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.

“When justice is short changed, every citizen seeking to vindicate their rights is short changed. We hope the new government recognises this.”