The luxurious life of judges (as paid for by the taxpayer)

The palatial lodgings of the high-ranking judiciary are costing the taxpayer £5m a year despite a hard-hitting economy drive that recommended judges give up their butlers and luxury cars, according to reports released by the government.

A league table of Victorian gothic manor houses and other ancient buildings used to accommodate high court judges when they are hearing cases away from London reveals that the upkeep of some of the buildings has risen by more than a third in five years. The only way the government has been able to give the overall costs a respectable veneer is by disposing of two of the properties so that they no longer feature in the costings.

But the figures for last year show that the cost per night for a judge to stay in the luxury lodgings in Chelmsford is £2,316, an increase of nearly £800 since Lord Irvine of Lairg ordered a clampdown on judges' accommodation expenses in 2001. Similarly, a night at the 18th-century town house next to Winchester Cathedral now costs £1,591 - £600 more than it did in 2001.

The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, are bound to anger MPs who have campaigned for better value for money for the 32 judges' lodgings that are dotted over England and Wales.

Recommendations in Lord Irvine's report, which was not published at the time, called for the abolition of judges' butlers and the end of the use of chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royces. Under the proposals judges' clerks were to replace chauffeurs and the judges' Rolls-Royces and Bentleys were to be exchanged for people carriers and saloon cars.

The review said the abolition of butlers would save the taxpayer £45,000 a year. The report said: "Many of the duties that were once the province of the butler, such as laying out clothes, robing and unpacking for judges, are no longer required. The few duties which remain, such as waiting at table ... could be carried out by other members of staff."

A comparison with alternative accommodation reveals that most of the lodgings were much more expensive than a night in a luxury hotel, although the authors acknowledge this does not include paying for additional security.

This prompted recommendations forradical cost-savings including closing more expensive lodgings and making the judges commute to work from London.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Constitutional Affairs said the reason the report had not been published before was that it was decided that it would be better to be incorporated into Lord Justice Auld's wide-ranging criminal justice review.

She added: "The cost figures recorded in the report and subsequently released in response to PQs or under FOI requests have always been historic spend figures. Consequently, because the total spend has either fallen or been held at the £5m mark over the intervening years, it is possible to claim the equivalent of a 12 per cent reduction in spend after the effects of inflation over the intervening period have been allowed for."

She said recommendations relating to butlers and transport have already been implemented. She added: "There have been administrative improvements and reductions in the cost of staffing, including the elimination of the butler posts. In the aftermath of the report we closed the permanent lodgings at Mold. We also replaced the permanent lodgings at Lewes with a hiring when required."

More recently the government has decided to replace "the old hirings at Truro and Exeter with more cost-effective hirings and are in the process of replacing the permanent lodgings at Maidstone with a hiring".

In a separate development the government has decided to allow junior judges, or Recorders, to stay in the lodgings in a bid to clear a backlog of cases across the country. Dozens of cases are awaiting allocation of a judge because of a shortage of Circuit Judges.

The grace and favour apartments

Telscombe Manor, East Sussex

Accommodation: Seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, stone mullioned windows, intricate carving and some exposed flint walls. Built on three floors, it has a 26ft drawing room, a sitting room and a 34ft dining room. All in two and a half acres.

Convenient for: Lewes Crown Court located five miles away.

Running cost: Annual cost reached £147,893 before it was vacated by its judicial tenants in 2004.

Larkbeare House, Devon

Accommodation: An eight-bedroom Victorian mansion in Exeter. The estate is guarded by a 10ft stone wall with electronic gates which open on to a driveway, where the Union Flag flies whenever a judge is in residence.

Convenient for: Exeter Crown Court.

Running cost: Last year the building's running costs reached £87,219, more than twice the figure of 2001.

Carr Manor, near Leeds

Accommodation: This Gothic mansion can accommodate four visiting judges. It is offered with a chef, a housekeeper and domestic staff but no butler or chauffeur-driven Rolls.

Convenient for: Leeds Crown Court.

Running cost: Annual upkeep of £376,933 five years ago but now just £286,964 year.

Winchester lodgings, Hampshire

Accommodation: This 18th-century town house next to Winchester's cathedral has accommodation for three judges. Just a short walk from the city's Crown Court.

Convenient for: Portsmouth and Bournemouth court centres.

Running cost: Five years ago it cost just over £300,000 in annual maintenance. Now it's available for £275,321.