All claims to county courts are to be processed through a central facility in a ‘massive sea change’ designed to slash costs and ­processing times, the Gazette can reveal.

From March, solicitors will no longer need to mail claims with a cheque to individual courts, but must instead e-file them to the centralised facility. Enforcement proceedings and divorce petitions could also soon be handled centrally, although no date has been set.

The new processes are to be run by 300 HM Courts and Tribunals Service staff based at the service’s new Salford Business Centre. The process will not require the name of an issuing court, though the centre holds seals for all county courts in England & Wales, allowing firms to name a preferred court. There will be a telephone service for enquiries.

Centralised electronic filing and billing systems are expected to cut turnaround times from five days to one, and save £2m-£3m a year. However, practitioners warn that the changes are likely to disadvantage unrepresented litigants, as county courts shed staff who previously handled civil claims and provided over-the-counter assistance.

Marie-Claire Clinton, litigation principal at Rugby firm JH Law, said: ‘The scheme’s biggest weakness is litigants in person not understanding the gobbledegook sent out by the courts and, with everything being centralised, having nobody to turn to for advice. The whole system could grind to a halt, especially when the small-claims limit rises from £5,000 to £15,000.’

Law Society Council and civil justice committee member Keith Etherington said: ‘This is a massive sea change in how civil claims are handled. The biggest breakthrough is no longer having to send a cheque with the claim. This opens the door to e-filing so that, potentially, you can file in the morning and have the claim posted in the afternoon, with the bill arriving later.’

A spokesperson for the courts service said the Salford Business Centre had saved nearly £2m in 2010/11 and, together with its associated telephone operation, is expected to save nearly £3m in 2011/12. ‘We are looking to introduce an account arrangement where regular customers can settle our fees by direct debit payment. This will streamline the way we do business.’

The Law Society’s civil justice committee is seeking feedback about solicitors’ ­experiences of the Salford centre. Post comments through: Keith Etherington's site.