Obiter is no expert on the public finances, but here’s a helpful suggestion for the next time the Treasury comes looking for economies at the Ministry of Justice. It’s called: pay your bills on time. Answering a question from Conservative MP Philip Hammond, Maria Eagle, the justice minister, admitted that in 2007–08 the MoJ and its agencies had to shell out £345,000 in interest to suppliers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. HM Prison Service accounted for more than half the penalty payments, but HM Courts Service came second with £44,211.
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