Courts: Spike in judicial reviews
A mere 135 cases had been allocated to the intermediate track by the end of June, while delays for the other tracks remain close to all-time highs, according to new figures.
The Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) quarterly civil justice statistics showed a 1% dip in county court claims lodged in April to June 2024 to 414,000; within that was a 13% jump in mortgage and landlord possession claims (to 30,000).
Damages claims were up 5% at 23,000 driven by an increase in personal injury cases (up 18%) to 16,000 compared to the same quarter in 2023, offsetting a decrease in other damages claims over the same period.
The statisticians wrote: “Personal injury claims showed general decreases between Q4 2020 and Q1 2022 but have remained relatively stable since Q4 2022. The decreasing trend is likely to have been due to a combination of factors including the introduction of whiplash reforms (with some cases being processed via the online portal rather than going to court).”
The intermediate track for most claims valued between £25,000 and £100,000 was introduced in October 2023 but as of 30 June, only 135 claims have been allocated to it, the update said.
In April to June 2024, it took an average of 50.6 weeks between a small claim being issued and the claim going to trial, two weeks less than the same period in 2023 and five weeks less than the all-time high in the second half of 2023.
“Timeliness for small claims remains a challenge with this metric measuring only those cases concluding at trial (rather than through settlement following mediation for example). There is regional variation within this metric with longer waiting times experienced in London and the South East,” the MoJ said.
The introduction in May of compulsory mediation for small claims valued up to £10,000 means that this measure will even more reflect more complex cases which take longer to dispose of.
The MoJ added: “The HMCTS reform programme is modernising and digitising the systems to allow the courts to work more efficiently, and cases are expected to progress from issue to directions more quickly.”
For multi/fast track claims, it took on average 79.3 weeks to reach a trial, 1.2 weeks longer than in April to June 2023, but 6.4 weeks less than the all-time high from the last quarter of 2023.
“Covid-19 and associated actions have led to an uptick in time taken for all claims to reach trial. Prior to this, a sustained period of increasing receipts had increased the time taken to hear civil cases and caused delays to case progression.
The figures showed a 40% jump in judicial review applications, compared to the second quarter of 2023, to 850 – the highest quarterly figure since the start of 2019.
Of those, 160 have already closed, and 17 were found to be ‘totally without merit’ (12% of cases that reached the permission stage).
Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations, commented: “Although there are small improvements in some areas, we are still way behind where we were before the pandemic. It still takes a huge amount of time for the court to hear a case.
“While all the media and political attention has understandably been focused in recent weeks on criminal justice, it is in civil justice, where most citizens access the law, where performance has been particularly dire in recent years.”
He called on the MoJ to focus on civil justice, setting clear targets to get delays down, and “adopt a range of models of dispute resolution, including new technologies where appropriate”.
James Maxey, chief executive of ACSO member Express Solicitors, added: “Despite changes which forced the majority of claimants to use the Ministry of Justice’s digital service to bring their claims, the data shows that the time spent waiting for the claim to be allocated to a local court is unacceptable.
“Unbelievably, part of the delay is caused by printing the claim documents off the digital platform onto paper and posting it out to the local court. The local court then has to confirm receipt of the court file and set a date for the case and costs management conference hearing, but this takes time.”
He said colleagues have chased progress on claims where there has been “radio silence”, only to be told that the paper court file could not be located. “We have had to reconstitute the court file and send it to the local court for the claim to proceed.
“Calling the Civil National Business Centre is made as difficult as possible, with call waiting over an hour. When the call is eventually answered we are often told that no information is available and simply wait to hear further from the court.”
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