Report comment

Martin - I don't think anon @ 13.39 was suggesting for a moment that the NHS was trying to undercut the French health industry. I understood the analogy to be that it's not state-aid if a state provides a public service funded by general taxation rather than charging the individual user the full cost of that service.

HM government has expressly stated that court users should be responsible for the costs of the court system, through fees rather than general taxation. That is manifestly different to the approach that appears to be applied by the French court system, which I would equate to UK NHS dentistry (i.e. you pay something, but the costs are heavily subsidised by the state.). That still does not mean the French system is state-aid.