Long waits: small claims cases taking hundreds of days to go to trial in Wigan

With civil cases nationwide taking more than a year to reach court, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers said the system was “fraught with delays, short-staffed and with court buildings in a state of disrepair”.

Most civil court cases are small claims where someone is trying to get money back for a faulty product, poor service or personal injury.

Ministry of Justice figures show the average time for claims to go to trial between October and December in Wigan County Court was nine months and one day. This was roughly in line with the year before.

APIL president Jonathan Scarsbrook said: “While the pandemic has contributed to delays, it is not the sole cause. Delays have been on the increase for a long time.”

Across England and Wales, it took longer than ever for small claims cases to reach court in the last quarter of last year – approximately one year and 26 days – up from eight months and 20 days in 2019 and a nine per cent jump from 2020, during the peak of the pandemic.

APIL is concerned the Government’s decision to introduce mandatory mediation for all small claims could make delays worse.

There were also significant delays in multi and fast-track claims, which are used for more complex issues – rising from one year and 62 days between October and December 2019 to one year and 235 days in the most recent period.

In Wigan, people had to wait one year and 121 days.

Across England and Wales, there were 8,000 small claims and 2,600 fast and multi-track cases waiting for a hearing in the last quarter of 2023. This includes 42 and nine respectively in Wigan.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We are taking action to make sure civil cases are processed as quickly as possible, including the biggest ever recruitment drive for district judges.

“We are also digitalising court processes including remote hearings, increasing the use of mediation to resolve cases outside of court and training new staff to process more claims.

“This timeliness data relates to just five per cent of the claims received by HM Courts and Tribunals Service, including a disproportionate number of complex cases.”