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The LCJ seems ignorant of what goes on in the courts: most litigants appear unrepresented in small claims and, since the effective demise of Legal Aid, in family proceedings, too. It isn't just the cost of lawyers which deters litigants: it's the closure of court-counters which used to provide face-to-face help, the lack of adequate information, the inefficiency of the courts and the increase in fees. As for using 'ordinary rooms in public buildings', ordinary rooms in court-buildings have mostly been converted because they weren't safe and couldn't accommodate the public. Courts need security gates and recording-equipment, too. And does the LCJ imagine that local authorities, at a time when their budgets are also under pressure, would make public-buildings available to the court service rent-free? One might hope that the senior judiciary would defend civil justice against the damage which government policy will inflict; under the present LCJ, muddled thinking and meek acquiescence are all that we can expect.