The latest Civil Justices Statistics Quarterly is out, with the data for the first three months of 2024 showing a broadly similar – i.e. not very good – picture.
The mean time taken for small claims to go to trial was 51.6 weeks, which compares favourably to the previous quarter, when it was 55.8 weeks, and to this time last year, when it was 51 weeks. However, this is still in effect a year’s wait.
For multi/fast track claims, the equivalent figure was 82.9 weeks, better than the frankly disastrous 85.7 weeks in the previous quarter but still 2.7 weeks longer than for the same period last year.
In the final quarter before the pandemic, the mean waits were 31.1 and 60.9 weeks, and although these numbers were themselves creeping up at that time, they should still represent the first target for the courts to hit on their long road to recovery.
Getting a grip on the performance of HMCTS must be a priority for the new government, whatever its stripes. Justice delayed remains justice denied, and we hope too that the new Justice Select Committee will pick up where the old one left off and inquire of ministers what, if anything, their plan might be.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2024