Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026

Chapter 7 Justice & Home Affairs

Portfolio Responsibilities

The Justice and Home Affairs portfolio has responsibility for keeping communities safe, supporting the administration of justice, and ensuring that Scotland is resilient and prepared to respond to a range of threats, including serious and organised crime.

The portfolio ensures the provision of effective public services, including essential emergency services such as police and fire, enabling them to fulfill their critical role as first responders, while also supporting and strengthening local communities It has responsibility for the delivery of civil, criminal, and administrative justice systems. This includes Scotland’s prisons, courts, tribunals, the legal aid system, and criminal justice social work services, as well as the contribution of third sector services. This work is underpinned by the principle that everyone should have the right to access justice.

The portfolio funds the provision of effective and efficient public services, and supports work to build safe, secure, and more resilient communities, with a focus on prevention, and the provision of person-centred and trauma-informed services for victims and survivors, and witnesses. We look to maintain our commitment to supporting and providing practical and emotional support to victims, survivors and witnesses of crime; and our investment in community justice services to continue our shift to the use of more community based sentences. The portfolio also ensures the provision of legal representation for those accused of crimes, ensuring a fair trial remains an essential and a fundamental right.

We support the First Minister’s priority of ensuring high quality and efficient public services. As outlined in the Vision for Justice, the portfolio seeks to enhance the wellbeing and life outcomes of the people of Scotland by, first and foremost, ensuring the safety and resilience of our communities. This includes preventing and reducing crime and offending through support for victims and witnesses, as well as striving to transform societal attitudes and circumstances that contribute to the perpetuation of crime and harm. We also contribute to tackling inequalities, protecting and promoting human rights, and contributing to a sustainable, inclusive and prosperous economy.

Our Programme for Government commitments support the improvement of our public services by providing funding for new prison estate and improving arrangements for those leaving short term sentences or remand. We are also focussing on victims and witnesses by reforming the Victim Notification Scheme, introducing trauma informed training for staff across the justice system. We are improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the justice system by working with Police Scotland on their programme of reform which is focussed on developing police capacity and capability; expanding the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability system to support the quicker resolution of cases; and maintaining support to improve the efficiency of the courts system.

Justice and Home Affairs intended contributions to the National Outcomes

Primary National Outcomes

• Communities
• Human Rights

Secondary National Outcomes

• Children and Young People
• Economy
• International
• Poverty
• Education
• Fair Work and Business
• Health
• Environment

For further information on the purpose of the portfolio budget, and contributions to national outcomes (including impacts of spend on equality of outcome) please refer to the relevant portfolio annex in the published Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement.

Justice & Home Affairs

The prior year 2024-25 Budget comparator figures are based on the latest in-year budget numbers which were revised at the Autumn Budget Revision. The 2023-24 Scottish Budget comparator figures reflect the outturn numbers for that year.