Yesterday’s Volume and Values report released by the Ministry of Justice suggests that crime expenditure in the year to the end of March 2013 is more than £100 million less than it was in 2011.
Legal Aid Expenditure
2011 expenditure was £439 million for crime lower and £702 million for crime higher making a total of £1,141 million. Expenditure for the following year to 2012 shows a reduction of about £30 million, however, it is the figures for the year to end of March 2013 that suggest a much greater saving. It is necessary to extrapolate because the figures are not complete, however, the savings are dramatic.
Crime lower expenditure from April to November 2012 (8 months) was £263 million which can be extrapolated to £394 million. Crime higher for a period of 9 months from April to December 2012 was £481 million which can be extrapolated to £641 million. Therefore, total Crime spend is likely to be circa £1,035 million…more than £100 million less than two years ago.
The Ministry of Justice Consultation refers to a need to make savings of £220 million per year yet it may well be that half those savings have already been achieved.
View the full report here: http://www.crimeline.info/uploads/docs/vandvmarch2013.pdf
