What can we expect from the Justice Committee's inquiry into the work of the County Court.
On the 21 January the Justice Committee launched a new inquiry into the work of the County Court. One aspect of the inquiry is a fresh call for evidence, amidst ongoing concerns over both capacity and resources -the time for submission of evidence closes on the 13 February.
The cross-party committee chaired by MP Andy Slaughter (Labour) wants to look again at the County Court after the Inquiry which began in 2024 was halted by the General Election. Members of the Committee recently visited the Central London County Court to witness firsthand the issues affecting civil justice.
A previous report published by the Justice Committee in 2022 called on the Government at the time to ensure adequate resource so that county courts had the capacity to deal with cases in a timely fashion. The report also asked Ministers to improve technology, and judicial and staffing capacities.
The time taken for small, fast and multi-track cases to come to trial has lengthened since the pre-pandemic baseline in 2019 and indeed since the 2022 Justice Committee Report. Civil justice statistics are subject to a time lag in reporting, but the last quarterly figures published (April to June 2024) showed it now takes almost 80 weeks (79.3 weeks) for a fast or multi-track case on average to reach trial from date of issue of proceedings. This compares to an average of 59.1 weeks in 2019.
It is probably too early to consider the impact of the Damages Claims Portal (DCP) on these statistics. The use of the DCP in county court claims is one of the main changes in the county court system since the 2022 Committee Report in terms of the amount of claims progressing through it and its sister service the OCMC. Both services ensure that most county court claims must be started online and are a key part of the HMCTS digitalisation strategy. Both services existed in 2022 in an incomplete form but the volume of claims progressing through the procedural stages within it, is increasing all the time. Whilst not without its challenges and potential for prejudice for defendants and insurers ,this digitalisation should in theory assist going forward in shortening the time taken to reach trial.
The Call for Evidence
The Consultation seeks a range of responses to include-views on the current delays and regional variations and their impact on the administration of justice, the adequacy or otherwise of current judicial and staff capacity, how technology can be harnessed to improve service and any views on future reform.
Comment
Data analysis has shown a broad correlation between claim lifecycle and increased legal costs though we recognise that this is mitigated by many civil personal injury claims sitting on the fast or intermediate track and subject to fixed recoverable costs regimes.
Our view is that both claimants and defendants’ interests are best served by a county court system which is properly resourced and which administers justice timeously.
We will be responding to the call for evidence and positively welcome / invite your views and observations to be included in our response. Please direct any contact through Peter Forshaw; peter.forshaw@weightmans.com or by phone- 0151 242 7935.
