Labour today sets out how it will make over £70 million of annual savings in the courts budget as part of its plan to cut the deficit every year and balance the books as soon as possible in the next Parliament.

In the fifth interim report from Labour’s Zero-Based Review (ZBR) of every pound spent by government, Chris Leslie MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and Sadiq Khan MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, outline how Labour will:

• Raise an estimated £67 million a year by improving the collection of fines issued by the courts, a collection rate which has plunged under the Tory-led government.  We will do this by, amongst other things, investing savings from the sale of judges’ lodgings into enforcement staffing.
• Save an estimated £5 million a year in running costs from co-locating two-thirds of the remaining single-use county courts and magistrates’ courts on the same site.
• Save an estimated £2.9 million a year from scrapping the use of the 15 High Court judges’ lodgings, the luxury overnight accommodation, including penthouse flats and Georgian townhouses, provided during lengthy trials across England and Wales, and instead providing accommodation for judges in cheaper hotels.

In addition, Labour will:

-          Raise an estimated £23.6 million from the sale of property as part of the co-location of two-thirds of the remaining single-use magistrates’ and county courts on common sites.

-          Raise an estimated £26.3 million from the sale of the publicly-owned judges’ lodgings, held by the Ministry of Justice, following a value for money review.

The proceeds of one-off asset sales from the Ministry of Justice will be used to help pay down the national debt.

The ZBR report on courts also identifies a series of wasteful measures under this government, including:

• £51 million handed in redundancy payments for prison officers before a staff shortage led to many of them being re-hired.
• £2 million to £3 million a month spent on temporary uniformed prison staff. 
• £19 million spent on lawyers and consultants during the government’s reckless privatisation of the probation service.
• The risk of a bill for hundreds of millions of pounds for the taxpayer from the signing of highly unusual, decade-long contracts for probation services which will not be able to be altered without incurring substantial costs.

Labour will cut the deficit every year, and get the current budget into surplus – and national debt falling – as soon as possible in the next parliament.

Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said:

“David Cameron’s government is set to break its promise to balance the books and get the national debt falling.

“The next Labour government will get the deficit and debt down, but we will do so in a fairer way and by examining every pound of spending.

“At this interim stage, Labour’s Zero-Based Review has identified over £70 million of annual savings in the courts budget, as we cut departmental spending in the next parliament in order to get the deficit down.

“And we will look at whether taxpayers would be better served by selling off the penthouse flats and Georgian townhouses, which are owned and maintained by the state for the exclusive use of High Court judges, and the proceeds used to help pay down the national debt.

“The abysmal record of Ministers allowing so many criminal penalties to go uncollected isn’t just bad for justice - it’s bad for our public finances too. A credible strategy to restore fine enforcement levels is long overdue.”

Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, said:

“This document shows that Labour is taking tough decisions when it comes to finding savings in the justice budget.

“However, instead of the haphazard way the current government has managed the Ministry of Justice and its budget, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake and severely curtailing access to justice, Labour’s approach will be fairer.

“In these challenging financial times, we need to keep a firm grip on the purse strings, and that means taking a long hard look at the way we run our courts.

“If we’re to maintain the standards for which we’re renowned the world over, it’s only fair we look at using our court buildings more efficiently, judges sharing some of the pain, and addressing the failings in fine enforcement.”