A complex organisation
Last week (14 November 2024), the Ministry of Justice published its annual report and accounts for 2023/4. I’ve perused the 292 page report (and its associated spreadsheet) so that you don’t have to with the aim of unearthing some noteworthy nuggets of information. I hope you find them interesting too. The MoJ is responsible for no fewer that 31 executive agencies and other arm’s length bodies. The big five, which deliver the bulk of the department’s services, are almost certainly well known to readers:
- HM Prison and Probation Service
- HM Courts and Tribunals Service
- Legal Aid Agency
- Office of the Public Guardian
- Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
The other 26 include everything from the YJB & Parole Board through the justice inspectorates (& IMBs), Sentencing Council & Law Commission to the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman and Assessor of Compensation for Miscarriages of Justice. This year the Oasis Restore Trust which runs the first secure school (now called a “secure academy”) is included.
Performance
I generally ignore the section of the annual report dedicated to performance because, in the main, this is a selective account, presenting areas of achievement rather than a comprehensive picture that includes all the areas where the Ministry is unfortunately failing as well as those where it is doing well.
Readers who work in prisons and probation may be surprised to learn that the MoJ has “taken measures to strengthen and stabilise the system”. I’m not suggesting that it is the fault of the MoJ’s leaders and staff for the long-standing crisis in our criminal justice system – it is Governments who allocate funding and make policy decisions – but that doesn’t stop the report from provoking a few raised eyebrows.
Finances
The last and current Governments have recognised the crises across the courts, prison and probation systems and (belatedly) allocated more funding, albeit much of the increase is for prison building which will only add to the demand on services.
The department’s total operating expenditure for the financial year 2023/24 was £13.6 billion, a jump from the £11.8 billion the previous year. The new Government has announced an increased budget for the MoJ for 2025/26.
You can see the headline breakdown of the main areas of spending last year below:
- HMPPS £5.3bn
- HMCTS £2.3bn
- Legal Aid £2.2 bn
- Corporate services £933m
- Higher Judiciary salaries £186m
- Criminal Injuries £161m
- CAFCAS £154m
- YJB £105m
Unsurprisingly, the department spends most of its money on “people costs” including: £3.3bn on HMPPS staff, £1.4bn on court staff and £843m on staff working at MoJ HQ and arm’s length bodies.
Another sizeable item of expenditure is the Private Finance Initiative Service Charges – basically repaying the monies raised to build prisons (£720m) and courts (£34m).
Remuneration
The total remuneration package (salary + bonuses + pension) for senior MOJ people last year included:
- Antonia Romeo (Permanent Secretary) £300k
- Amy Rees (Chief Exec HMPPS) £235k
- Nick Goodwin (Chief Exec, HMCTS) £190k
Income
The Moj does receive some forms of income including, last year:
- Fee income (mainly court & tribunal fees) £867,000
- Fines £385,000
- Retail prison shop income £81,464
- Victim surcharge £65,527
Private prisons
The annual report also contains details of the 15 prisons run by private sector operators. The list below shows the contract start date and length of contract. As you can see, recent contracts are for much shorter periods.
HMP Ashfield November 1999 25 years
HMP Forest Bank January 2000 25 years
HMP Rye Hill January 2001 25 years
HMP Dovegate July 2001 25 years
HMP Bronzefield June 2004 25 years
HMP Peterborough March 2005 25 years
HMP Thameside March 2012 25 years
HMP Doncaster October 2011 15 years
HMP Oakwood April 2012 15 years
HMP Northumberland December 2013 15 years
HMP Five Wells November 2020 10 years
HMP/YOI Parc December 2022 10 years
HMP Lowdham Grange February 2023 10 years
HMP Altcourse May 2023 10 years
HMP Fosse Way June 2023 10 years
