Work of the County Court
Justice Committee
Closed
Inquiry
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
2025
17 Oct
2025
2025
Report published
21 Jul
2025
2025
Report published
10 Jun
2025
2025
21 May
2025
2025
8 Apr
2025
2025
Oral evidence
8 Apr
2025
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
18 Mar
2025
2025
Oral evidence
18 Mar
2025
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
7 May
2024
2024
Oral evidence
7 May
2024
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
View on parliament.uk
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)
Reports 1 report · click to expand
| Title | HC No. | Published | Items | Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th Report - Work of the County Court | HC 677 | 21 Jul 2025 | 43 | Responded |
Recommendations & Conclusions
13 results
12
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Update the ‘Court and tribunal’ finder with comprehensive county court information and contacts.
‘Court and tribunal’ finder must be updated with up-to-date information about each county court, what type of claims they hear and all essential contact information. (Recommendation, Paragraph 55) 56 Judicial and staff capacity
Government Response
The government committed to providing a spending breakdown to the committee by March 2026 and highlighted increased funding for court capital maintenance, but did not address the recommendation about updating the court finder with specific court information.
Ministry of Justice
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13
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Civil judiciary no longer an attractive profession, hindering recruitment of high-performing candidates.
While we welcome the recent introduction of location-based advertising for full-time judicial roles, the civil judiciary is no longer an attractive profession. It is vital more is done to attract high performing candidates to the district-bench. (Conclusion, Paragraph 64)
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Government Response
The government stated it would review the data it collects on the condition of the court estate and consider improvements, with outcomes provided by March 2026, but did not address the recommendation on attracting high-performing candidates to judicial roles.
Ministry of Justice
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14
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Include evaluation of judicial recruitment offer in any County Court review, assessing pay and conditions.
Any review into the County Court must include an evaluation of its judicial recruitment offer. This has to consider pay and progression opportunities, an assessment of the current working conditions, and evaluate the regional recruitment initiatives. (Recommendation, Paragraph 65)
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Government Response
The government stated it is developing an accessibility strategy for courts and tribunals services and investing over £1 million in lift replacement projects in 2025/26, but did not address the recommendation for a review of the County Court's judicial recruitment offer.
Ministry of Justice
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15
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Unbearable HMCTS staffing crisis impedes County Court support and efficient access to justice.
The Committee would like to pay tribute to the dedication and hard work of frontline staff in the County Court. However, the current staffing crisis in HMCTS is untenable, impeding its ability to support County Court users and ensuring efficient …
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Government Response
The government stated that a system for requesting reasonable adjustments is already in place for court users, but did not address the concern about the staffing crisis in HMCTS.
Ministry of Justice
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16
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Include in-depth assessment of County Court recruitment and retention crisis in future review.
A future review must include an in-depth assessment of the recruitment and retention crisis of the County Court, extending the existing discussions regarding HMCTS pay scales to include assessments of current and required workload capacities ensuring any additional resource is …
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Government Response
The government outlined HMCTS's approach to designing digital services, which includes user research and co-design in line with the Government Service Standard, but did not address the recommendation for an assessment of the County Court's recruitment and retention crisis.
Ministry of Justice
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17
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Litigants-in-person are inadequately supported due to inaccessible language and insufficient data collection.
Despite persistent calls, litigants-in-person are not adequately supported through the court process. The language used in court applications is inaccessible, court procedure is not explained, and there is limited support available. The insufficient data collection on the prevalence of litigants-in- …
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Government Response
The government highlighted benefits of existing digital services and the new Civil Auto File Share (CAFS) system for modernising civil case file handling, but did not specifically address the lack of adequate support, accessible language, or data collection for litigants-in-person.
Ministry of Justice
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18
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Increase collection and publication of data on litigants-in-person, including claim type and timeliness.
HMCTS must increase the collection and publication of data on litigants-in- person. This needs to include the type of claim, timeliness of issue to trial or settlement, and court location. (Recommendation, Paragraph 86)
Government Response
The government acknowledged the value of real-time status updates for users and confirmed their availability on new digital services and planned introduction for possession digitalisation, but did not commit to increasing the collection and publication of data specifically on litigants-in-person.
Ministry of Justice
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19
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Publish clear and accessible guidance for litigants-in-person explaining claims process and responsibilities.
The Ministry of Justice and Civil Justice Council must publish guidance for litigants-in-person. It needs to explain the claims process, their responsibilities, and the implications of failing to comply with deadlines. This must be written in clear, accessible language and …
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Government Response
The government stated HMCTS is updating Reform systems to provide consistent case reference numbers for users, but did not address the recommendation to publish specific guidance for litigants-in-person.
Ministry of Justice
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20
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
End chronic capital underfunding for the court estate to prevent further disrepair.
It is unacceptable that the court estate has been allowed to enter such disrepair due to years of capital underfunding. While we welcome the Minister’s acknowledgement of the “chronic” underinvestment within the court estate, this Government must end the cycle …
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Government Response
The government detailed the Civil Auto File Share (CAFS) project, which is introducing a new system to increase electronic document management and streamline workflows within the Civil National Business Centre, but did not address the concerns about the disrepair and underfunding of the physical court estate.
Ministry of Justice
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21
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
HMCTS fails to recognise importance of court estate condition and lacks transparency on maintenance backlog funding.
We are concerned by HMCTS’ failure to recognise the importance of the condition of the physical estate for both the functioning of courts and the public’s perception of civil justice. We have both seen and heard of unacceptable examples of …
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Government Response
The government explained the document upload limits for new digital systems and committed to reviewing the current lower limit for email submissions, but did not address the concerns about the condition of the physical court estate, maintenance backlog, or funding transparency.
Ministry of Justice
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22
Recommendation
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Publish a detailed breakdown of £220 million capital funding spent on court repairs and maintenance.
We recommend that the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS publish a detailed breakdown of how the £220 million in capital funding was spent between March 2023 and March 2025. The breakdown should include further information as to the type of …
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Government Response
The government's response discussed a pilot for mandatory small claims mediation and its future evaluation, completely unrelated to the recommendation on capital funding for court maintenance.
Ministry of Justice
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23
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Collect and publish regular data on the condition of the court estate.
HMCTS must collect and publish regular data on the condition of the court estate. This is imperative to informing preventative repairs. (Recommendation, Paragraph 102)
Government Response
The government's response discussed a project for a digital case management and e-Filing solution in the High Court, which is unrelated to collecting and publishing data on the condition of the court estate.
Ministry of Justice
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24
Conclusion
Deferred
4th Report - Work of the County Co…
Recognised difficulty in retrofitting old court buildings to meet accessibility standards.
We recognise the difficulty in retrofitting old court buildings to meet the required accessibility standards set out in Section 20 of the Equality Act
Government Response
The government's response, despite stating 'Accept in part,' detailed its AI Action Plan for Justice and various AI pilots, which is unrelated to the committee's conclusion regarding the difficulty of retrofitting old court buildings for accessibility.
Ministry of Justice
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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