Government Consultation: 650% increases planned for magistrates' and family courts

Solicitors and their clients face a massive hike in court fees in the coming year - as the government also revealed plans to revive controversial proposals for trial fees in larger civil cases.


Some fees in magistrates' and family courts will rise by 650% if proposals aimed at saving the government £50 million - contained in a consultation launched last week - go ahead.


The proposals aim to achieve 100% costs recovery in civil cases, and 66% in family cases. In one of the largest increases, the fee for parents wishing to seek contact with a child will rise from £30 to £175.


A Department for Constitutional Affairs official also confirmed that plans to charge court users for the judge's time and use of the courtroom - which were put on hold last year - will now be the subject of a detailed consultation in 2006. The 2004 consultation proposed a fee of £200 an hour for the judge's time.


The spokeswoman said: 'The proposals for hourly trial fees proved the most controversial element of the 2004 consultation. So it was decided to defer implementation for a time to devise a more detailed proposal that dealt with the various practical issues that were identified. This is now one of the projects being taken forward.'


Anthony Maton, executive committee member of the London Solicitors Litigation Association, said: 'To my knowledge, other countries do not charge for the judge's time and use of the courtroom. If we have to start asking commercial clients to pay these large sums of money, this will exacerbate the move towards international arbitration instead of the courts, and that may well be done abroad.'


Christina Blacklaws, chairwoman of the Law Society's family law committee, said: 'These increases will lead to quite a number of people being unable to access any form of family justice... for publicly funded clients, these fees will be paid as disbursements from the legal aid fund. It is moving money from one government department to another, with no benefit to the individual whatsoever.'


Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said the fee increases were 'pricing people out of the family and civil justice system' when 'the latest increases were only implemented last year'.