Grayling promises to 'monitor' enhanced court fee impact

The Lord Chancellor has defended the implementation of enhanced court fees in a letter to the Master of the Rolls but promised to monitor the impact on access to justice.

Earlier this year, senior judges publicly expressed 'deep concern' at the 'dramatic' increases in court fees.

In January the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) introduced enhanced fees for all claims above £10,000 based on 5 per cent of the value of the claim.

A letter sent from the office of the Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and signed by Lord Dyson Lord Justice Leveson, Sir James Munby, Sir Terence Etherton, and Lord Justice Richards, warned of a disproportionately adverse effect on business and litigants in person, especially those who fund cases after the event.

The judges also warned that the number of litigants in person was likely to increase, as claimants chose the payment of court fees over legal representation.

Writing in response to the criticism, the Lord Chancellor said that despite fears some claimants might be unable to pursue claims due to the upfront nature of the increased court fees, there remains systems in place to assist those individuals.

'There are, of course, arrangements in place to help people bring these sorts of claims, including conditional fee arrangements (CFAs) and after the event insurance (ATE),' wrote Grayling.

'In addition, I feel that it is important to point out that many of your concerns are addressed by the current fee remission scheme which provides full or part remissions to those who cannot afford to pay the fee, subject to their means,' he continued.

Grayling added that he believed the scheme would catch most cases deserving of a fee remission but promised that his officials would keep the situation under review to ensure those with meritorious claims are not prevented from accessing the courts.

'I have therefore asked officials to monitor the situation in respect of the type of higher value claims that are the caused of your concern and consider whether guidance needs to be strengthened on the use of the exceptional circumstances remission,' he said.

John van der Luit-Drummond is deputy editor for Solicitors Journal john.vanderluit@solicitorsjournal.co.uk | @JvdLD