'Considerable investment, yet key issues still ignored' - mixed reaction from criminal justicepublished at 15:42 British Summer Time 11 June
Dominic Casciani
Home and Legal Correspondent
There’s been a mixed reaction so far from the criminal justice sector. The Spending Review chucks some cash at some problems - but not others, that remain chronic.
Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates’ Association, says "considerable additional investment" for probation and the Crown Prosecution Service (S) will help better manage offenders and speed up decisions to charge suspects.
But, he adds: "There was no mention of tackling the dire shortage of legal advisers in magistrates’ courts, which is leading to up to one in ten sittings being cancelled, or the need to recruit up to 6,000 additional magistrates over the next few years to hear the extra cases, especially if the new intermediate courts come to fruition."
Separately, the Criminal Bar Association - which represents barristers who appear in courts - says that the government is continuing to ignore independent reviews that have recommended more money to entice lawyers into this critical part of the justice system.
Mary Prior KC, the CBA’s chair, says: "It will cost so little to follow the recommendations of the independent government reviews about how the criminal Bar must be funded to survive."