As recent data from HM Courts & Tribunals Service on the work of the County Court shows that the time between claim and hearing continues to rise, the House of Commons Justice Committee has launched an inquiry to “examine the work of the County Court amid long-standing concerns over court capacity and resources”.

The Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly for April to June 2023, published on 7 September 2023, revealed that the average time taken for small claims to reach a hearing was 52.3 weeks after they are issued, while for multi/fast track claims it was 78.2 weeks. That is an increase of one week and 2.8 weeks respectively compared with the same period in 2022, and 15.7 weeks and 19.1 weeks compared to 2019.

The inquiry is currently accepting written evidence on the work of the County Court, and submissions are to be made by Thursday 14 December 2023 using the information here:

https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/3268/

We will provide further coverage of the inquiry as it progresses.