MPs to examine work of county court amid concerns over capacity and resources
The Justice Committee has launched a new inquiry to examine the work of the County Court amid “persistent” concerns over capacity and resources.
The inquiry, launched this week (21 January), will “look afresh” at the work of the County Court, after the cross-party committee’s previous investigation was halted by the July 2024 General Election.
It will consider areas including the condition of the County Court estate, the use of technology and data, current staffing levels and judicial capacity.
According to the latest official data on the work of the County Court, the average time taken for small claims and multi/fast track claims to go to trial was 50.6 weeks and 79.3 weeks.
Compared to 2019, these measures are 14.0 weeks longer for small claims and 20.2 weeks longer for multi/fast track claims.
In its 2022 report, the former Justice Committee called on the then 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 ministers to set out what steps it was taking to reduce delays in the County Court and to improve the judicial, physical, digital and staff capacity of the County Court.
Chair of the Justice Committee Andy Slaughter said: “Recurrent concerns around delays, resourcing and capacity have persisted for years, affecting the lives of all those who rely on a functioning County Court to deliver timely justice.
“It’s right that the Justice Committee early in this Parliament examines in detail why these issues remain unresolved and takes evidence from those impacted. As the latest claims data shows, the time taken from claim to hearing for multi/fast track claims is still much longer than the pre-covid baseline.
“Improving the effectiveness of the County Court could help with the Government’s mission to strengthen economic growth, as we know that small businesses rely on the County Court to resolve disputes.”
The Committee is inviting submissions of written evidence on the work of the County Court, on issues including:
- 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;
- Whether there is sufficient staffing and judicial capacity;
- The current procedural mechanisms used by the County Court to resolve disputes;
- What future reforms to the County Court should be considered.
The call for evidence is open until 13 February 2025.
Lottie Winson
