Ministry of Justice fails to file £11bn in spending receipts

Published: 16 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

The Ministry of Justice, responsible for overseeing a £13 billion annual budget covering prisons, probation, and courts across England and Wales, has failed to file spending receipts totalling nearly £11 billion, according to a report by public spending analyst firm Tussell. The department has fallen more than two years behind in publishing receipts for multimillion-pound contracts, raising concerns about transparency and accountability over public funds.

Tussell highlighted that the last receipts were filed in May 2023, despite industry standards allowing a two-month leeway for publication. “This gap in publication is deeply concerning and highlights that the government is failing to meet its own transparency standards,” a Tussell spokesperson said. “Such delays undermine visibility over public spending at a time when accountability and scrutiny are more critical than ever.”

Between June 2022 and May 2023—the most recent 12-month period with published receipts—the Ministry of Justice reported spending of £5 billion. Tussell calculated the missing £10.8 billion by extrapolating from this figure over the 26 months during which receipts were not filed. This calculation covers all MoJ arm’s length bodies, excluding the family court advisers Cafcass and the Legal Services Board, which remain up to date in their reporting.

Tom Brake, director of the transparency group Unlock Democracy, condemned the delays, warning that prompt publication of government spending is essential to detect and prevent misuse of public resources. “With government finances painfully tight, spending receipts must be published promptly,” he said. “Delaying their publication damages the government’s ability to control its expenditure.”

Government-wide data indicates the Ministry of Justice is the worst-performing department when it comes to missing spending data. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is 13 months behind, with unreported spending estimated at £3.7 billion, while the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology lags by 10 months, with approximately £880 million unaccounted for.

Despite the reporting delays, the Ministry of Justice has received a 1.8% real-term increase in funding as announced in the chancellor’s recent spending review. Day-to-day MoJ expenditure is projected to reach £13.2 billion by 2028-29, while capital spending will rise to £2.3 billion annually for 2026-27 and 2028-29 before returning to £2 billion in 2029-30. These funds support the government’s plan to create 14,000 additional prison places by 2031, with approximately 2,500 new places already built since July 2024.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies noted in February that MoJ spending was sharply reduced during the early 2010s, with capital funding for HM Courts and Tribunals Service and HM Prison and Probation Service cut by more than 90%. The recent funding increases aim to reverse some of this underinvestment while modernising the justice infrastructure.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson defended the department’s accounting practices, stating that all spending has been properly recorded. “We need to review a substantial amount of data to ensure we do not release anything that could cause any risk, particularly to individuals,” the spokesperson said. “All departmental spend is accounted for in our annual accounts, and it’s misleading to suggest otherwise.”

The failure to file receipts on time highlights the continuing challenges of transparency within large government departments. Analysts warn that delayed reporting limits public scrutiny and may reduce confidence in the effective use of taxpayer money. Given the scale of the MoJ’s budget and the critical services it oversees, timely publication of spending data is essential for both parliamentary oversight and public accountability.

As the department continues to expand investment in prisons and courts, the gap in published spending data serves as a reminder of the importance of adhering to transparency standards. Stakeholders, including transparency advocates and fiscal watchdogs, continue to monitor the situation, urging the government to ensure that all expenditures are properly documented and made publicly available promptly.

The case also underscores wider issues of public finance management across Whitehall, where several departments face delays in publishing spending data. Transparency organisations say these delays complicate efforts to hold departments accountable and hinder meaningful oversight of public funds, particularly in areas with large and complex budgets.

The Ministry of Justice’s substantial annual budget covers a broad range of responsibilities, including maintaining secure prison facilities, supervising probation services, and operating the court system. Effective management of this budget is critical for the delivery of justice services and the protection of public resources. Observers say that bridging the current reporting gap will not only improve accountability but also strengthen public confidence in the management of taxpayer funds.