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13 August 2015 / Nichola Evans
Issue: 7665 / Categories: Opinion
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Rising pressure

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Nichola Evans raises questions over the court fee increase consultation

Another day, another consultation from the Ministry of Justice. Hang on—this one seems to be about an increase to court fees: didn’t we have one of those only a few months back?

So we’re about to see a doubling of the fee for issuing a consent application and an increase from £155 to £255 for a contested application. In addition there will be a consultation as to whether there ought to be an increase in the maximum fee for the issue of money claims from £10,000 to £20,000 and a 10% increase in other civil court fees. Also there are proposed increases to fees for possession and divorce proceedings.

Piecemeal review

In other news, we read that the Lord Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls have appointed Lord Justice Briggs to conduct an urgent review of the court system to help “ensure the reform programme designs a service which makes best use of the large capital investment proposed and provides a modern, efficient and accessible

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