Commenting on the government's response to the Justice Select Committee's report into the work of the County Court, Matthew Maxwell-Scott, Executive Director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO), said:
"It was our campaign for action on court delays which led to this inquiry, and in calling for it to be resuscitated after the general election, we believed it would give the new administration the opportunity to show it was serious about civil justice.
"In her very constructive response, the Minister has shown she is prepared to grasp the nettle and do something about the dire state of the County Court.
“Of the 25 recommendations, 16 have been accepted in full and 7 in part, which is testament to the committee’s work in getting to the heart of the problems and providing ministers with a specific set of issues to tackle. We now have clear targets and timelines to measure success against and to hold the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS to account.
"It is disappointing the government was not prepared to commit to a full review, but despite the rather more piecemeal approach being taken it would be churlish not to commend the government for responding so positively to what is an exceptional report. Civil justice needs champions, and in the Justice Select Committee it has a champion that ministers cannot ignore."
The report and the government's response can be seen at https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmselect/cmjust/1387/report.html