07 June 2023
Justice is slow, with small claims taking a year to reach court (51.9 weeks), the latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) civil justice statistics show.
The figures, published last week, also show multi-/fast-track claims take 79.9 weeks, an increase of 16 weeks on the same quarter last year.
Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO), said the justice system had become ‘a Cinderella service after years of government cuts’.
Moreover, fewer damages claims are being brought. Some 17,000 personal injury claims were brought in the quarter to March 2023, down 8% on the previous quarter, while other damages claims decreased 13% to 6,800.
Overall, damages claims have fallen 29% from the same quarter in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, which the MoJ attributes to the impact of whiplash reforms.
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