Justice system leaders warn Jeremy Hunt against further austerity

Prisons are “on their knees”, police numbers are only now recovering from past cutbacks and there is a record backlog in the courts, which is why senior figures across the justice system bridle at the thought of more cuts.

Nick Emmerson, president of the Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, said a new round of austerity would be “absolutely disastrous” for the justice system. His view is widely shared in police ranks and among prison officers.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is under pressure from his Conservative party colleagues to deliver big tax cuts in his Wednesday Budget to try and boost his party’s flagging electoral prospects. But though he has pledged to protect public spending on defence, education and the NHS, other departments risk being squeezed.

Hunt’s current tax and spend plans envisage 1 per cent real growth in public spending overall until 2029. When his commitment to bigger boosts in spending on key areas is taken into account, the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank has estimated the plans imply real-term cuts to “unprotected” departments including Justice and the Home Office of 3.4 per cent a year. The Treasury said it “did not recognise” the IFS figures.

“Further cuts would be an absolute disaster for justice,” Emmerson said. “This is a system that desperately needs significant additional funding just to stand still.”

Police, prison and justice budgets were among the hardest hit by former Tory chancellor George Osborne’s austerity programme in the years after the 2008 financial crisis. The legacy endures in crumbling courtrooms, understaffed prisons and strained police.

Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, said jails were “on their knees” — a view frequently echoed by chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor, who…