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FW Pomeroy's Statue of Justice on top of the Central Criminal Court building, Old Bailey, London, January 8, 2019
AN URGENT review is needed into the “dysfunctional” county courts system which is suffering from “systemic delays,” MPs have warned.
The Commons justice committee said it was difficult to understand why civil justice proceedings still rely on paper files posted around the country, causing serious delays.
Latest data shows that a small claims case for £10,000 or less takes nearly a year on average to be heard, according to the report published today.
Committee chairman Andy Slaughter said: “The county court is a dysfunctional system that has failed adequately to deliver civil justice across England and Wales.
“With over a million claims each year and a vast jurisdiction … it is beset by unacceptable delays, recruitment and retention issues … and a complex ‘patchwork’ of paper-based and digital systems.”
The Labour MP added that the causes of the inefficiencies and delays follow years of underfunding. The committee said it was unclear if any of the £220 million of funding given to the courts service between August 2023 and March 2025 had been spent on the county courts.
The Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the findings of the report will be considered, and there will be a response in due course.
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