The Department of Justice was allocated an additional £39.3m,
which includes £2.75m for the civil disorder which was seen
during the summer.
The Minister said: “I welcome the recent announcement and
allocation of an additional £39.3m by the Executive. This
will go some way to alleviating the significant pressures being
experienced across the justice system.
“My department has been proactive in working to reduce
expenditure and to live within budget, including making tough
decisions on vacancy management. Coupled with some
easements arising from demand in our prisons being slightly less
than anticipated, the department has been able to reprioritise a
further £7.4m to help address pressures elsewhere.”
“There are many areas of justice that are experiencing
unprecedented pressures, and I have had to make decisions to
direct additional funding to where I believe it will make the
most impact at this time. This includes an additional allocation
of £36.7m to the PSNI. This further funding meets in full
the pressures identified by the PSNI to sustain and stabilise
policing in this financial year.
“I am also allocating £5.2m to Legal Aid which will enable the
processing of more legal aid payments and reduced payment
times. I hope this will alleviate some of the strain being
reported by the legal profession at this time.”
“Whilst the improved budget will offer some reassurance and
stability, we must be cognisant of the challenges that remain,
including a shortfall in meeting exceptional pressures of
£227m. We are very much demand-led, and the majority of my
department's costs are inescapable. We cannot control the
volume of calls to the PSNI; the number of cases in our courts;
the amount of legal aid required to provide access to justice;
the amount of compensation claims; or the number of people
committed to our prisons or placed on probation. I am determined
in my efforts to continue to push for a better financial
settlement for the Department of Justice.”
