MoJ preparing for £2bn-worth of cuts

The Ministry of Justice is preparing the ground for £2bn-worth of cuts, a union has claimed.

The Public and Commercial Services Union said an announcement had been made to staff at the MoJ, outlining the need for the cuts to the department’s £9bn budget.

The savings will have to be made within the first two years of the next spending review period, which will be announced on 20 October, the PCS said.

The union said the cuts were equivalent to the entire budget for prisons or the money spent by the MoJ on courts and tribunals. Up to 15,000 of the department’s 80,000 staff could be at risk of losing their jobs, it added.

The PCS warned that many services – such as the collection of fines by the court – were under “severe strain” and that the cuts could see the department unable to function.

General Secretary Mark Serwotka said: “This is the first indication of the true scale of the cuts being imposed upon departments by this coalition government, and it paints a devastating picture. It is clear that the civil service will simply not be able to cope.”

A letter from Ann Beasley, director general of finance for the MoJ, reportedly says that “efficiencies will not be enough” and that “it will also mean there will be less of us”.

An MoJ spokesman told the BBC that it would not provide a running commentary on its discussions with the Treasury and that no decisions had yet been made. “Like all departments we were asked to plan for savings of 25% and 40% as part of the coalition government’s deficit reduction plan,” he said.