Here’s a breakdown on how the Ministry of Justice aims to save £249 million to meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s latest austerity measures. Apparently the MoJ says it plans to make savings by, among other things, restricting the use of consultants and delaying capital projects.
It says £105m will be saved by “reprofiling” – or changing the timing – of capital projects. An additional £144m will be saved by measures including cutting travel, overtime and the use of consultants or agency staff (£58m) and renegotiating contracts. Some details are yet to be finalised but the MoJ says further cuts to legal aid “do not form part of this package”.
A spokesperson said: “The department is committed to playing its part in the government’s deficit reduction plans and delivering significant savings for the taxpayer. Following the chancellor’s request to find additional in-year savings, we have put together a package that will enable us to drive underspends and efficiencies across the department, including savings from commercial contract negotiations.”
COMMENT: We love the euphemism “reprofiling” – why not just say postponing? And of course the MoJ is silent on the fact that it would have a lot more funding at its disposal if it didn’t waste so much money on doomed IT projects.