Justice sector faces ‘unacceptable’ cuts without £400m more cash, MSPs warn

An extra £400 million needs to be found for justice services in Scotland next year, ministers have been told.

A Holyrood committee warned that without the additional cash, “unacceptable” cuts will have to be made.

Describing the situation as “gravely concerning”, Audrey Nicol, convener of Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee said without the extra money there could be “unacceptable cuts to frontline services”.

She spoke out as a report from the committee, published ahead of January’s Scottish Budget, said the sector had made a “stark assessment” of what would happen if there was a flat settlement, with no increase in cash from 2025-26.

This would “not be sufficient to allow the justice sector to meaningfully address the serious and complex challenges it is facing”, the report said.

Noting that Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) had “achieved nearly £1 billion in savings for the Scottish budget” since being established back in 2013, the MSPs were clear that scope for further savings in these two organisations is now “exhausted”.

Instead, the committee said that the police and fire services “both must now see the reinvestment of these achievements back into their future funding”.

Looking at the justice sector as a whole, which includes the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), the report stated: “The sector has said it now needs an uplift of some £400 million if it is avoid making the kinds of cuts and reductions in service which the committee does not think would be acceptable to the public and their expectations of the justice system.”

The report detailed how the budget for Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority should increase by 10% in 2026-27, to just over £1.7 billion.

Meanwhile, the committee said SFRS funding should increase by 13% from this year to almost £430 million.

With MSPs noting that a “key driver for budgetary pressures for the SPS is the current high number of people in custody”, it suggested the SPS should see its budget increase 18% to £983.5 million.

The report went on to say a 29% funding increase is needed for the SCTS, taking its budget to £183.6 million, with the suggestion that £244.1 million be allocated to the COPFS, a 3% rise on this year.

With the committee having taken evidence from leading figures from across the sector, the MSPs said they would “strongly recommend” Justice Secretary Angela Constance “gives serious consideration to the additional funds needed by the sector”.

Ms Nicoll, herself a former police officer, said: “The scenario facing the justice sector is gravely concerning and without additional funding of £400 million it will face unacceptable cuts to frontline services.”

She added: “Our committee acknowledge that there are no easy answers when it comes to the budget pressures the Government is facing.

“However, despite the best efforts of the justice sector to make efficiency savings over the last 10-15 years, it is clear that a crucial limit has now been reached in terms of funding and resources.

“Put simply, a flat cash settlement next year is not sufficient, and would lead to cuts and reductions to services which our committee cannot accept.”

As well as calling for additional funding, MSPs on the committee said that “there is now an urgent need for the Scottish Government to move towards multi-year funding settlements” for the sector – saying if this could not happen there should “at least” be “firmer indicative settlements” so organisations can be more aware of how much cash they will have in future years.

The committee further recommended that ministers consider “whether there is scope” for borrowing powers to be restored to both the police and fire services – saying that this would give both organisations “much needed flexibility”, allowing them to “address critical issues which arise at short notice and need an immediate response”.

Ms Nicoll stated: “We want to see additional funding of £400 million and multi-year funding settlements to help the sector in the short and long term.

“We also encourage the Scottish Government to look into giving the police and fire services the ability to borrow money and create financial reserves in order to give them more flexibility to deal with ongoing and urgent financial pressures.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We appreciate the work of the Criminal Justice Committee in their pre-budget scrutiny ahead of the Scottish Budget which will be published on January 13 2026.

“We provided a record amount for Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the Scottish Prison Service and other agencies as part of the £4.2 billion investment in the justice system in 2025-26.”