In these difficult and unprecedented times there is more unwelcomed news as Court fees are scheduled to increase. The government is set to impose a widespread increase in Court fees despite listening to arguments that this was the wrong time to raise Court fees due to the impact of Covid 19.
The Ministry of Justice will now proceed to increase the Court fees in relation to 129 categories. The Ministry of Justice acknowledged the impact the increased fees would have on individuals and businesses affected by Covid 19 and has stated that it will extend the thresholds for offering help with Court fees. The thinking behind this is that the fee remissions will be more generous for those unable to afford the Court fees. It will now be a case of let’s wait and see if access to justice is further restricted for many individuals and businesses.
In civil proceedings the hearing fee for multi- track cases is set to increase from £1,090 to £1,174 and the small claims hearing fee will increase to £352 where the value of the claim exceeds £3,000.00.
