Civil Court Users Association (CCUA) has responded to the House of Commons Justice Committee inquiry into the work of the County Court.
The Civil Court Users Association (CCUA) welcomes the inquiry. CCUA Chair Rob Thompson says:
“The Committee Chair Sir Bob Neill has confirmed that the justice committee has held long-standing concerns over the resourcing and capacity of the county court. The irony of the situation is that, since enhanced court fees were introduced some years ago, around £100 million or so of Civil Claim Fees are redirected every year to other areas of spending on the basis that these fees are supposedly over and above the cost of providing the service. Yet the service is inadequate. As a starting point, those fees could be retained within the County Courts to provide the further resourcing which is so clearly needed at the present time.
“The reform programme has so far been a bitterly disappointing damp squib, despite many ideas and enhancements being proposed over the years by the CCUA. The Association continues to actively engage with both the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS. We once again urge them to consider and proactively implement the ideas we have put forward and we continue to stand ready to assist with the detail, to hopefully achieve meaningful change and a court system which is genuinely fit for court users in the 21st century.”
