Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Accepted
Enable litigants to recover wasted costs from HMCTS due to poor court administration.
Conclusion
Litigants must be able to recover the legal, travel, and subsistence costs from HMCTS wasted as a result of over-listing and/or poor court administration preventing their cases from being heard. (Recommendation, Paragraph 43)
Government Response Summary
The government states it commissioned the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) to review judicial salary structures, with a report due in November 2026, and will concurrently review regional District Judge recruitment exercises concluding in Spring 2026.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Accept in part. The Lord Chancellor commissioned the Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) to undertake a Major Review of the judicial salary structure in December 2024. The Major Review is looking at the role of pay in supporting consistent recruitment across the judiciary, including the challenges affecting the salaried District Bench, as well as reviewing location-based allowances (such as London weighting) and how these might address regional recruitment shortfalls. The Lord Chancellor has asked the SSRB to deliver their report in November 2026. A review of the two regional District Judge recruitment exercises which launched in 2024 and 2025 (80 vacancies for London and the South East and 25 vacancies for other regions) will be undertaken concurrently, evaluating the impact of this approach on applications, shortlist and appointments taken up when they conclude in Spring 2026. This will assess whether regional recruitment with greater certainty of location and targeted outreach improve recruitment outcomes. We are considering the results of the 2024 Judicial Attitude Survey and the findings of the Ministry of Justice’s social research (Dr Turenne, Cambridge University) into motivations to apply for salaried office to inform our approach to future recruitment. We continue to invest in judicial recruitment and work closely with Judicial Office and the Judicial Appointments Commission to improve outcomes.