Work of the County Court

Justice Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 21 Jan 2025 Closed: 22 Apr 2026 Parliament page
This inquiry examines the Work of the County Court amid long-standing concerns over court capacity and resources. It comes as data on the work of the County Court shows the time taken from claim to hearing continues to rise. Read the Call for evidence to find out more about this inquiry .
13 Recommendations
30 Conclusions
1 Report
3 Oral sessions
3 Letters
3 Events
Activity timeline 11 events
9 Dec
2025
Correspondence
17 Oct
2025
Report published
21 Jul
2025
Report published
10 Jun
2025
Correspondence
21 May
2025
Correspondence
8 Apr
2025
Oral evidence
8 Apr
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
18 Mar
2025
Oral evidence
18 Mar
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
7 May
2024
Oral evidence
7 May
2024
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 3 sessions
8 Apr 2025
View on parliament.uk
Daniel Flury · HM Courts and Tribunals Service Jason Latham · HM Courts and Tribunals Service Sarah Sackman MP · Ministry of Justice Steven Jarman · Ministry of Justice
18 Mar 2025
View on parliament.uk
Lord Justice Colin Birss · Judiciary of England and Wales Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Vos · Judiciary of England and Wales
7 May 2024
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Dr Natalie Byrom · Faculty of Laws, UCL Elizabeth Gallagher · Temple Garden Chambers Emily Giles · The Hyde Group Matthew Maxwell Scott · The Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO)
Title HC No. Published Items Response
4th Report - Work of the County Court HC 677 21 Jul 2025 43 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
7 results
Clear
1 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Make County Court improvement a key priority for the Ministry of Justice.
The criminal justice system is often the focus of mainstream attention and gets recognition for delivering justice, but with over a million claims each year, and a vast jurisdiction, the County Court is where most citizens and businesses encounter the … Read more
Government Response
The government vaguely commits to reviewing its civil justice data and considering whether improvements could be made to its publication processes, without directly addressing the recommendation to make County Court improvement a key priority.
Ministry of Justice
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3 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Lack of transparency and data on regional County Court performance hinders effective scrutiny.
The civil justice quarterly statistics do not aid transparency or allow for effective data-led scrutiny into the performances of individual courts. The County Court is known to house significant regional variation across England and Wales yet there is no evidence … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees on the importance of data-informed listing practices and states that HMCTS is currently exploring the development of predictive analytical tools using machine learning to support better administration of listing.
Ministry of Justice
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9 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Facilitate greater use of remote hearings and provide national guidance on their application.
HMCTS, and the Ministry of Justice, must facilitate the greater use of remote hearings, working alongside the Senior Judiciary to provide national guidance outlining when virtual hearings should be used. (Recommendation, Paragraph 44) Contacting the County Court Read more
Government Response
The government states it is progressing work by planning to review and restate the County Court operating model and revisit its resource model to align with workload demand and post-Reform ways of working, but does not commit to producing specific national guidance on the use of virtual hearings.
Ministry of Justice
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10 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Centralisation of County Court operations has devastated justice delivery, causing debilitating delays.
Despite its intended aim of simplifying the operation of the County Court, the centralisation of essential court operations has had a devastating impact on the delivery of justice, entrenching the postcode lottery and results in debilitating delays for all parties. … Read more
Government Response
The government states it already publishes some information on claimant representation status and will review existing court data to consider whether further granular data can be made available.
Ministry of Justice
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25 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Prioritise and deliver accessibility improvements for the court estate with clear targets and budget.
All works to increase accessibility, in all of its aspects, of the court estate must be prioritised and delivered at pace. It is not satisfactory for lift repairs to take months, or for disabled users to be taken through back … Read more
Government Response
The government stated it is focusing on tangible steps to improve the County Court and highlighted general operational improvements, but it did not commit to specific measurable targets, timelines, or a costed budget for accessibility works as requested.
Ministry of Justice
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27 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
County Court Reform Programme over-ambitious and under-delivered on digital transformation.
The Reform programme was over ambitious and ultimately under-delivered. We acknowledge the diverse range of jurisdictions that fall within the County Court which may have contributed to the challenges the programme faced. However, we are not satisfied with HMCTS’ evidence: … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the committee's findings and states that HMCTS has learned lessons from the Reform programme, adjusting and improving its approach to designing future digital services through user research, co-design, piloting, and testing.
Ministry of Justice
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28 Conclusion Acknowledged
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Reform programme civil projects insufficiently tested, causing County Court inefficiencies and dual running
The civil projects that were delivered under the Reform programme were not sufficiently tested with practitioners in mind. As a result, the avoidable failures of Reform have led to unacceptable amounts of dual running, with one claim requiring interactions with … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the committee's findings and confirms that HMCTS has learned from the Reform programme, now adopting an improved approach to designing digital services that includes extensive user research, co-design, piloting, and testing for all future reforms.
Ministry of Justice
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Government Response AI assessment · 43 of 13 classified
Accepted 17
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 7
Deferred 13
Rejected 3
Total 13 recs + 30 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
9 Dec 2025 Correspondence from Sarah Sackman KC MP, Minister for Courts and Legal Services, dated 8 December 2025: HMCTS Capital Estate Investment Spending (April 2023 - March 2025)
Parliament page
10 Jun 2025 Correspondence from Daniel Flury, HMCTS Operations Director, dated 29 May 2025 relating to the oral evidence session held on 8 April 2025
Parliament page
21 May 2025 Correspondence from Sarah Sackman KC MP, Minister for Courts and Legal Services, dated 15 May 2025 relating to the oral evidence session held on 8 April 2025
Parliament page