Norwich County Court

Yet another arm of the court system has failed millions of people who want justice because it is totally dysfunctional, a scathing report by MPs warned this week.

The Commons Justice Committee describes the county court system as the ” Cinderella ” of civil justice, a finding that might be similarly applied to readers of this blog to those experiencing the employment tribunal system.

The report calls for an ‘urgent and comprehensive, root-and-branch’ review is required to address systemic delays and entrenched inefficiencies across its operations. It reveals a decade-long digital Reform programme has fallen well short of its ambition, leaving a myriad of incompatible systems and outdated paper-based processes. It still only covers 23 per cent of cases while the rest of the court cases rely on paper or a mixture of digital and paper.

Andrew Slaughter, the Labour chair of the justice committee, described the situation as one of the most serious problems and said the county court system was ” living in another world” compared to the rest of the country.

The scale of the mess is breath taking and it does not surprise me.

The report says: “We found that the situation in the County Court is dire and requires urgent attention. The court estate is in a state of significant disrepair following years of “chronic underfunding,” with regional variation remaining a perennial issue, and the operations of the court having been failed by a
dysfunctional attempt at digital reform. The Committee found that the problems would be all the greater without the commendable efforts of court staff to operate a system that fails to provide access to justice”

The report describes buildings subject to rat infestations and still containing asbestos and wondered if any of the £220 million allocated to rebuilding the court system had been spent on county courts.

Other problems include access to the courts which amounts to a postcode lottery and the retention of staff when facing a big turnover of people. Examples of the first problem included some courts like Barnet and Romford not responding to inquiries and Mansfield County Court; Brentford County Court;
Darlington County Court ;Edmonton County Court; Hertford County Court; Lewes Combined Court Centre; and Taunton Crown,County and Family Court not permitting people in wheelchairs to access the courts.

The report points out that many people bringing cases to court are litigants in person and says the problems people face needed to be addressed.

The report says: “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-person means the Ministry of Justice cannot understand how to direct and provide the support needed.”

The report reveals that five decades ago in the 1970s this issue was raised and still nothing has been done about it.

I am at present monitoring one case at Sheffield County Court involving a young welder, Matthew Reynolds, who got life changing injuries after a heavy refractory brick fell 150 feet from the roof of the steel works at Port Talbot. The case has been going on for five years and he still has not adequate compensation as the case is dragged through the county courts in Doncaster and Sheffield. He is facing as a litigant in person expensively paid KC’s by Tata Steel, Babcock and an insurance company who while admitting liability don’t want to pay anywhere near the money he needs for the rest of his life. I intend to write up the full story as it proceeds through the county court system.

Andrew Slaughter, described his case as ” an extreme one”.

His committee is planning to look at the whole issue of legal aid across the legal and inquiry system after the previous Conservative government slashed billions from the legal aid budget.

Andy Slaughter MP said: “The conclusions of our report make for stark reading: the County Court is a dysfunctional system, that has failed adequately to deliver civil justice across England and Wales. It is the ‘Cinderella service’ of the justice system, evidenced by the reviews currently underway into both sentencing and the criminal courts, while there is a fundamental absence of any equivalent process across civil justice.

“With over a million claims each year and a vast jurisdiction, the County Court is where most citizens and businesses encounter the justice system, yet it is beset by unacceptable delays, recruitment and retention issues across frontline staff and the Judiciary, and a complex “patchwork” of paper-based and digital systems.

“The causes of the inefficiencies and delays in the County Court are chronic, following years of underfunding, yet what is unclear is how HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), together with the Judiciary and the Ministry of Justice, intends to address such a serious situation.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. The Justice Committee recommends an urgent and comprehensive, root-and-branch review of the County Court launched by Spring 2026 to establish a sustainable plan for reducing the systemic delays and inefficiencies entrenched across its operations. It is not tenable to continue without fundamental reform.”