Committee publication · Estimate memoranda · 29 April 2026
UK Supreme Court Main Estimates Memorandum 2026-27
From: Justice Committee
Summary
The UK Supreme Court's Main Estimate for 2026-27 requests £6.643m in Resource DEL and £0.727m in Capital DEL, totalling £5.739m in net cash. The budget supports core judicial functions, judicial recruitment due to retirements, and a planned Glasgow sitting. Two accounting treatment changes (depreciation reclassification and lease budget realignment) do not affect actual spend. Substantive funding increases reflect pay and outsourced service inflation, partially offset by increased court income.
Key findings
- Net cash requirement of £5.739m, with Resource DEL of £6.643m (voted £2.603m, non-voted £4.04m) and Capital DEL of £0.727m for asset renewal and IT infrastructure
- Coincidence of judicial retirements in 2026-27 requiring additional recruitment activity; no enhancement funding provided
- Depreciation (£2.053m) now budgeted under Annually Managed Expenditure rather than Resource; £2.4m lease spend reclassified to align with IFRS16 reporting
- Substantive resource changes: voted Resource down £90k, non-voted judicial pay up £240k, capital increased £256k—funded by inflationary pressures (pay and outsourced services) offset by increased court income
- Court is approximately half-funded by this Estimate; remainder from UK legal jurisdictions directly and court user fees
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
UK Supreme Court, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, HM Treasury, Vicky Fox, Justice Committee, Parliament, devolved administrations
Notable line
“The Court upholds the rule of law in the UK and the countries that use the JCPC by deciding legal questions of public importance brought to it from around the world.”
Key Quotes
“The role of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (UKSC) remains to act as the final court of appeal for arguable points of law of general public importance arising from civil cases throughout the United Kingdom”
“The Estimate will fund a "business as usual" level of day to day activity and provides capital funding for asset renewal relating to the building and IT infrastructure but no enhancements.”
“There is a reduction in voted Resource (-£90k), an increase in non-voted Resource (Judicial Pay, +£240k) and an increase of £256k for capital.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗