Michael Gove, Conservative Secretary of State for Justice, has recently announced increases to court and tribunal fees of 10% across the range of civil proceedings, including enforcement proceedings, determination of costs proceedings, and civil business in the Magistrates Courts.
This comes on the back of earlier increases in fees originally introduced in March 2015. It marks an emerging trend in Conservative thinking that charging for justice is acceptable.
In fact was the excuse used by the Minister for Justice Shailesh Vara for introducing the new increases. In one of dozens of written ministerial statements published on the last day of Parliament the Minister argued “Courts and tribunals in England and Wales cost £1.7 billion in 2014-15, but we only recovered £700 million in income. That is a net cost to the taxpayer of around £1 billion.”
In response Liberal Democrat Justice spokesman Jonathan Marks QC said:
“The Minister’s attempt to justify these fee increases fundamentally misunderstands the issue. The courts and tribunal services provide a core social function in any democratic and just society, the Government appears to be trying to use it as a profit making machine. This is utterly reprehensible.”
“We welcome the modernisation of our courts and tribunal service – something the Liberal Democrats introduced in the Coalition government. This in itself will bring enormous efficiency savings and help serve the public more effectively. So I hope that the Secretary of State will continue to explore innovative solutions along these lines.”
“However, I urge the Government to review the consequences of the court fee increases introduced in March last year, particularly with regards to access to justice, before they contemplate any further hikes.”