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The theory behind the Court fees increase was, I think, the right one. Court fees of up to £1,570 (the previous maximum) for cases which are worth hundreds of millions if not billions to the parties and in which the solicitors on both sides make 7 figure sums does not reflect "value" for use of the Court system.

This is not, in my view, a "moral" argument. Most large cases take up days and days and days of Court time for which the Court receives only the issue fee (previously £1,570 as a maximum) and a hearing fee (which was around £1,000). That hardly pays for the Judge's salary and those of the Court staff who need to present throughout the entire trial. And that is not the mention the administrative role of the Court throughout the proceedings.

However, the method by which the Department of Justice tried to redress this balance - by increasing issue fees - was the wrong approach. What it should have done, in my view, was to apply a daily charge for the trial itself - based on the value of the claim. This is how the solicitors and barristers charge for their time at trial, so why not the Court? A daily hearing fee would, in my view, have been fairer because those with the smaller claims pay a smaller fee, reflecting the value and time spent in Court.