Commenting on the Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly data for the first quarter of 2025, Matthew Maxwell Scott, Executive Director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO), said:
“The very small uptick in performance in the first quarter of 2025 shouldn’t mask the long-term failure of successive governments to get a grip on the county courts.
“At an average of 49.8 weeks for a small claim to go to trial and 74.7 weeks for a multi/fast track claim, this is a marginal improvement on both the previous quarter and the same period last year.
“However, in the last equivalent quarter before the pandemic, January to March 2020, the average times were 39.7 and 59.6 weeks respectively, considerably faster. But if you compare this to ten years ago, the averages were 31.7 weeks and 55 weeks, which were themselves the worst numbers since records began in 2000.
“What we are seeing is the result of the hollowing-out of civil justice over the last generation, with consumers who depend on our courts for justice losing out as a result. This is despite the much-vaunted courts modernisation programme and considerable amounts of public money being spent on digitation schemes that have so far failed to make a difference.
“A poor settlement for the Ministry of Justice in next week’s Spending Review looks a racing certainty, and while the solution lies not just in more resources, even less money could have a catastrophic impact.
“The Justice Select Committee inquiry report into delays in the county court cannot come soon enough. The government should heed its recommendations and act decisively. So far in office, it has done nothing to help improve this crisis for access to justice.
“We’ve said before that ministers need to engage more with the legal services sector to see what can be done to bring down waits, reduce the size of the lists and improve consumer outcomes. That engagement cannot come soon enough,”
ACSO has previously set out a five-point plan for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), calling on it to:
- focus on civil justice, including new funding where necessary and fresh impetus behind the courts reform programme;
- adopt a range of models of dispute resolution, including new technologies where appropriate, working with the MoJ, the Master of the Rolls, service providers and others to build public awareness of and trust in new methods;
- be more transparent on waiting times, court and tribunal processes and the implications of delays, cancellations and arcane processes;
- set clear targets for getting delays down; and
- work with stakeholders across the legal and claims sector to achieve a coordinated, consensual approach.
The latest data, and that for previous years, can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly