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14/7/25 8:13 pm
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The government has dismissed MPs’ calls to conduct a comprehensive review of the “dysfunctional” County Courts.
In its response to the Commons Justice Committee’s report on the work of the County Courts, the government insisted that its focus on digitisation and ongoing modernisation efforts was starting to yield improvements.
The report delivered a stark assessment of the current system, describing it as “a dysfunctional operation that has failed to adequately deliver civil justice across England and Wales”. It flagged years of “chronic underfunding” and said delays were driven by increased demand, recruitment and retention issues, and increasing volumes of litigants-in-person.
Landlords have experienced possession claim delays as the latest Ministry of Justice figures show the average eviction timeline has risen to 27.9 weeks, up from 25.4 weeks a year ago.
While the government refused to carry out a root and branch review, it accepted most of the remaining recommendations such as the greater use of remote hearings and replacing the use of postal services for sending paper files with email or other electronic methods, which it describes as “tangible and practical steps to improve the operation of the County Court which will benefit everyday users”.
However, David Smith, property litigation partner at Spector Constant & Williams, says its response feels more like an effort to keep the lights on than a real attempt to fix deep-rooted issues in the civil justice system.
“While digitisation has its place, it cannot by itself address the fundamental resourcing and structural problems the County Court faces,” adds Smith. “With the Renters’ Rights Bill set to increase workloads further, there’s an urgent need for more decisive action to build confidence and ensure the system can cope with what’s coming.
“The legal profession will be watching closely to see whether the government’s current programme of reforms can deliver meaningful improvement, or whether, as many fear, a more comprehensive review will soon prove unavoidable.”
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