Estimates day: The spending of the Ministry of Justice

The Debate

On Wednesday 25 June 2025, there will be an Estimates Day Debate on the spending of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on criminal justice. The topic for the debate was proposed by the Backbench Business Committee, on application from Andy Slaughter MP, Chair of the Justice Select Committee. Following the debate, the House will vote on whether to approve the Main Estimate for the MoJ for financial year 2025-26.

The Main Estimate

The MoJ Main Estimate 2025-26 includes a Resource DEL budget (day to day spending) of around £13.0 billion (a 7% cash increase compared with the previous year). Of this around £6.1 billion is for the HM Prisons and Probation Service, £2.8 billion is for HM Courts and Tribunal Service, and £2.2 billion is for The Legal Aid Service. 

The Capital DEL budget (investment spending) for 2025-26 is around £2.0 billion (a 21% cash increase compared with the previous year). Of this around £1.7 billion is for the HM Prisons and Probation Service, £0.2 billion is for HM Courts and Tribunal Service, and £1 million is for The Legal Aid Service. 

Long term spending trends

Despite nominal cash terms increases in Resource Expenditure since financial year 2015-16, the 2023-24 actual expenditure level was 11% less than in was in 2010-11 in real terms (this means adjusted for inflation in 2025-26 prices).

However, Capital Expenditure (which is the budget for the department’s investment expenditure) has generally increased over the period and it was 98% more in 2023-24 in real terms than it was in 2010-11. 

The Estimate for Resource Expenditure in 2025-26 is 14% more than the spending plans for 2024-25. This increase would help to offset the declines in funding in the 2010s however not completely.

The Estimate for Capital Expenditure in 2025-26 is 32% more than the plans for the year before. This would be a record high level of Capital Expenditure over the period.

Further historical expenditure information is available in the IFS report Justice Spending in England and Wales which outlines Ministry of Justice spending going back to the early 2000s.

Note: 2025-26 financial year figures are taken from the MoJ Main Estimates. Data for 2024-25 is planned budget data, all preceding years are what was actually spent.

Source: HMT, PESA: Various Years, Chapter 1; MoJ, Main Estimate 2025-26: Estimates Memorandum, May 2025; HMT, March 2025 GDP deflator series, 28 March 2025