SMALL claims cases took less time to go to trial in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole last year, new figures show.

Ministry of Justice figures show the average time it took for such claims to go to trial between October and December in Bournemouth and Poole County Court was 11 months and one day.

This was 24 days fewer than the same time the year before.

Overall, across England and Wales, it took longer than ever for small claims cases to reach court in the last quarter of last year – approximately one year and 26 days – significantly up from eight months and 20 days in 2019 and a 9 per cent jump from 2020, during the peak of the pandemic.

APIL is concerned the Government’s decision to introduce mandatory mediation for all small claims in the county courts could make delays even worse.

There were also significant delays in multi and fast track claims, which are used for more complex issues – rising from one year and 62 days between October and December 2019 to one year and 235 days in the most recent period.

In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole people had to wait for one year and 184 days.

Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: “The Law Society has repeatedly expressed its concern about rising delays in the county courts, meaning many are not accessing justice.

“These delays can result in litigants suffering hardship because they cannot get the remedy they are entitled to, or in some cases dropping their claims, because they cannot afford to put more time and money into them.”

Across England and Wales, there were 8,000 small claims and 2,600 fast and multi-track cases waiting for a hearing in the last quarter of 2023. This includes 56 and 18 respectively in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We are taking action to make sure civil cases are processed as quickly as possible, including the biggest ever recruitment drive for district judges.

“We are also digitalising court processes including remote hearings, increasing the use of mediation to resolve cases outside of court and training new staff to process more claims.”