Long announces budget plan
Date published:
Justice Minister Naomi Long has announced her budget plan following the October Monitoring round.
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.”
Notes to editors:
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