The Justice Committee has today launched a new inquiry to
examine the work of the County Court amid long-standing
concerns over court capacity and resources.
It comes as data on the work of the County Court shows the time
taken from claim to hearing continues to rise.
In its 2022 report, the cross-party committee of MPs called on
the Government to provide the “resources to ensure that the
County Court has the capacity to deal with cases in a timely
fashion”.
The report also urged the Government to set out what steps it is
taking to reduce delays in the County Court and to improve the
judicial, physical, digital and staff capacity of the County
Court.
But the Civil Justice Statistics
Quarterly for April to June 2023, published on 7 September
2023, shows the average time taken for small claims and
multi/fast track claims to go to trial was 52.3 weeks and 78.2
weeks - one week longer and 2.8 weeks longer than the same period
in 2022.
Compared to 2019, these measures are 15.7 weeks longer for small
claims and 19.1 weeks longer for multi/fast track claims. In
September this year the Association of Consumer Support
Organisations started a new campaign to reduce delays in the
civil justice system.
During the inquiry, the Committee will take evidence from both
claimant and defendant firms, a range of representative bodies
and NGOs, plus the Civil Justice minister KC.
Chair of the Justice Committee, Sir said: “The Justice Committee has
held long-standing concerns over the resourcing and capacity of
the County Court and made strong recommendations to this effect
in its 2022 report.
“More than a year on, claims data shows the situation is
worsening not improving and it’s right the Committee examines
this deterioration and takes evidence from those impacted by
delays, staffing levels, access, as well as other issues.
“The work of the County Court shouldn’t be the Cinderella of
the justice system. It affects a significant proportion of the
public, who rely on it to deliver justice. If it doesn’t have the
resources it needs to function effectively then it will have a
real impact on people’s lives, as well as on the economy.”
The new inquiry is available here:
Work of the County
Court
Terms of Reference
The Committee is launching a call for written evidence on the
work of the County Court.
The Committee invites evidence submissions
by Thursday, 14 December
2023 on:
- What the current level of delay in
the County Court is; the extent of any regional variations; and
the effect of delays on litigants and the administration of
justice;
- The ways in which the County Court
engages with litigants in person, and how this could be
improved;
- The accessibility of the County
Court for people with disabilities;
- The condition of the court estate,
and its effect on the work of the County Court;
- The use of technology in the County
Court and how it could be used to improve the service provided by
the County Court;
- The effect of the court reform
programme on the County Court, including the new Online Civil
Money Claims service and the Damages Claims service;
- The current level of fees and the
approach taken to costs in the County Court, and how the fees
collected are used as part of the current funding arrangements
for the County Court;
- Whether there is sufficient
judicial capacity in the County Court, and current steps to
improve judicial capacity;
- Whether there is sufficient
staffing of the County Court;
- The causes of action giving rise to
claims in the County Court;
- The current procedural mechanisms
used by the County Court to resolve disputes;
- The quality of data available on
the work of the County Court; and
- What future reforms to the County
Court should be considered.
