Responding to today’s announcement from the Chancellor on the Spring Budget, Tom Franklin, the Chief Executive of the Magistrates’ Association, said:
“Today’s budget statement was, once again, a missed opportunity. While the extra money announced—as part of new plans for public sector productivity—is welcome, all parts of the justice system, from the provision of court legal advisers and probation officers, to the dire state of our court buildings, need considerable new investment if justice is to be served fairly and efficiently. And plans to boost the efficiency of the police may well result in higher arrest rates, drawing more people into our already overburdened criminal justice system without the resources needed to deal with them speedily.
“The justice system is creaking at the seams, and this includes magistrates’ courts, which hear over 90 per cent of all criminal cases. They have endured huge changes over the past decade, partly due to underfunding and cuts. In that time, half of all magistrates’ courts have closed and the number of magistrates has halved.
“Today’s news means that unfortunately, speedier justice for all—victims, witnesses and defendants—will be further delayed. Without properly investing in justice, a bad situation is going to get worse.”
