I have been following the Gazette’s coverage of court delays. You may be interested to hear of a letter sent to solicitors on 14 August by Northampton County Court concerning arrears, which are now said to be 31 working days in some areas of work.

As a member of the court user group, I have every sympathy with the staff at Northampton County Court and other courts in the area, who have done a great job in recent years in the face of government cutbacks. However, I wonder what the Solicitors Regulation Authority would say about a firm of solicitors that told clients that it would take six weeks to deal with a letter.

We are faced with ever-increasing court fees for a service which is getting worse. Is it not time for there to be a full investigation, together with a freeze on court fee increases?