A campaign to reduce court delays in the civil justice system and pull people out of ‘legal limbo’  has been announced by a not-for-profit body representing consumers in the civil justice system.

After blaming processing delays for the ‘damaging sclerosis’ in civil justice, the Association of Consumer Support Organisations said today its campaign will urge ministers to make tackling the delays a priority.

Research conducted by ACSO and Express Solicitors found that, on average, it takes 353 days for the court to hear a case. The south east was found to be the worst performing region, with an average wait of 462 days. The north east was the best performing region, with an average wait of 251 days.

ACSO blames the delays on several factors, such as budget cuts at the Ministry of Justice, delays in HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s courts modernisation programme, greater attention on criminal justice, the state of the court estate, legal aid cuts and admin delays at the Civil National Business Centre (which replaced the County Court Money Claims Centre).

Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director, said: ‘Most people want the civil courts to hear their cases quickly and effectively. Philosophising about the merits or otherwise of the Human Rights Act doesn’t help anyone caught up in a sclerotic justice system.’

ACSO wants to see greater government focus on civil justice, more dispute resolution models adopted, transparency on waiting times, clear targets to cut delays, and collaboration with stakeholders in the legal and claims sector to achieve a ‘coordinated’ approach.

Maxwell Scott said: ‘The new justice secretary needs to get to grips with this issue urgently. If he wants to make the biggest positive difference to the greatest number of people, improving access to justice for the thousands of consumers stuck in legal limbo would go a long way to restoring confidence in our courts.’

A spokesperson for HM Courts and Tribunals Service said: 'We want everyone to have swift access to civil justice which is why we’ve rolled out virtual hearings and are increasing the use of mediation to help more people resolve disputes without needing to go to court in the first place. We are also driving down delays at the Civil National Business Centre by better targeting resources and training up new staff, which has already delivered improvements in areas like fee applications and processing claims.'