There have been a number of cuts and investments in the legal system in the past few years. One of the worst headlines, was almost £46 million being written off on court building projects which were cancelled after the 2010 election.
The worst example is the cancellation of Birmingham’s planned new Magistrates Court. The project was due to cost £80 million but was cancelled after £30 million had already been spent on planning and legal costs.
A department source said “as a result of the need to deliver savings each project was reassessed, because they did not deliver sufficient value for money. By reappraising each project robustly we stopped any further expenditure being incurred.”
In face of criticism as to why so much had been spent on abandoned projects and concerns going forward, they said “HM Courts & Tribunals Service now has rigorous appraisal processes in place to ensure that any estate projects are fully justified, offer value for taxpayers’ money and deliver significant improvements to court and tribunal users”.
The legal system seems to have been battered in the past few years in terms of funding and resources. With an election looming, it remains to be seen as to what positive proposals there are for the legal system or whether more cuts await.