Severe delays are contributing to a ‘damaging sclerosis in civil justice’ according to the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO).

The Civil National Business Centre (CNBC) replaced the county court money claims centre on 14 August as part of plans to transfer civil administration work from Salford to Northampton.

The CNBC handles the early stages of civil claims before they are transferred to regional courts around England and Wales.

Weekly performance data published by HM Courts and Tribunals Service shows that the time for the completion of ‘key’ court processes is increasing, with the issue of a new claim on paper taking 40 days – a three-day increase from May to August this year.

Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of ACSO, said there had been a ‘rapid deterioration in service quality’.

Comparing figures from May to August 2023, the total processing time from receipt of application to an order or comment being typed was 82 days from 61 days and the timeframe for processing a directions questionnaire increased from 29 days to 50.

He added: ‘The current CNBC delays are having a substantial impact on the overall county court timelines, as reflected in the civil justice quarterly statistics. Processing delays have been getting longer and longer for some time.

‘Across a number of public institutions, from the DVLA to the UK Border Force, we’ve seen a rapid deterioration in service quality in recent times. Civil justice may not have the same political profile, but the problems are just as acute and the impact on consumers, often in a very vulnerable position, is simply unacceptable.

‘HMCTS needs a clear plan to start reducing processing times. We saw how the government managed to get a grip of failures in the Passport Office amid a media outcry and bring about significant improvements in processing times; we urge ministers to adopt a similar no-nonsense approach to our civil justice system.’

The ACSO, which represents consumers in the civil justice system, said official statistics ’show that consumers using the civil justice system are waiting on average a year for their small claim to reach the court and around 18 months for a higher-value claim’.

The organisation is campaigning for the Ministry of Justice to make civil justice its priority this year.

An HM Courts and Tribunals Service spokesperson said: ‘We want everyone to have swift access to civil justice and have introduced an action plan to drive down delays, including better targeting resources and training up new staff, which is already seeing improvements in areas like fee applications and processing claims.’

 

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