Public Account Committee criticises MoJ financial management
MPs have raised concerns over financial management at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
A Public Accounts Committee report has revealed that the MoJ impact assessment on the proposed legal aid reforms failed to cover the full impact of the cuts. There has also been a dramatic increase in the amount owed to the government under fines and confiscation orders, which now stands at almost £2bn. Sixty per cent of the £1.25bn owed in confiscation orders may never be recovered.
Margaret Hodge MP, chair of the committee, said financial management had improved since the last report but that the MoJ “remains unable to deliver timely and accurate financial accounts”.
An MoJ spokesperon said: “The government has significantly improved the way fines and confiscation orders are collected.
“We have increased deductions from benefits, introduced asset seizures and begun programmes of targeted blitzes. Already we’re seeing results, with £282m [of] fines collected in the last financial year. We are also taking steps to recover the full costs of court services by introducing simpler fees and, where necessary, changing court costs.”
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