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I know this is going to be fantastically unpopular, (and I expect a tsunami of thumbs down), but, as a general rule, (with possible exceptions like arguing over the children in family cases), I'm in favour of the court fees in civil cases covering the price of running the civil courts.

Firstly, as a general principle I think it is OK. HM Land Registry is funded by the fees it charges.

Secondly, court fees are always recoverable in full by the party who "wins". The problem, as always, is whether the losing side has the money to pay, and, to some extent, that is part & parcel of civil litigation. People should, and often do, think about whether to commence legal proceedings or put in that application depending on whether the other side are able to pay the costs if they lose.

Put another way, it is not immediately obvious to me why the taxpayer should be funding civil litigation without any prospect of getting the money back from litigants where, at least in theory, either claimant or defendant were in the wrong.