Responding to yesterday’s spring statement from the Chancellor, Tom Franklin, the Chief Executive of the Magistrates’ Association, said:
“We are disappointed following today’s spring budget statement. Criminal justice is in crisis, with court backlogs now at almost 310,000 in the magistrates’ courts and just over 74,500 in the crown courts – delaying justice for victims, witnesses and defendants – the probation service is understaffed and under-resourced, and the courts themselves need hundreds of millions of pounds invested in them to bring them up to even an acceptable standard. Today’s budget statement is another missed opportunity to address these problems or to support the good work that the government is doing to try to turn around the justice system, through its reviews of sentencing and the criminal courts.
“The whole criminal justice system needs long-term, sustainable and considered investment. The government has found £1.6 billion to patch up pot-holed roads, but it has only found £8 million for the probation service, nowhere near enough to patch up our creaking justice system. This jeopardises the running of the courts and will delay justice for victims, witnesses and defendants. This is why we want the justice budget to be protected in future budgets, on a par with other vital services like the NHS and defence.”
