New research from Express Solicitors has highlighted the continuing challenges facing the civil justice system, despite some improvements in how long claims are taking to reach trial.
Based on data of its own cases across departments such as Employers’ Liability, Occupiers’ and Public Liability, Road Traffic Accidents and Clinical Negligence, the research compiled by Express Solicitors show a regional breakdown of Court delays. This highlights that it is still a postcode lottery despite improvements to the system.
Compared to last year, Yorkshire retains top position with delays reduced to 193 days on average and the East Midlands has also retained its position of third, with delays of 216 days on average.
The northwest has dropped down to seventh from its second-place position of last year despite improving wait times from 337 days to 253 days. The second-place spot is now held by Wales who has improved upon last year’s numbers with delays going from 353 days to 195 days.
London has dropped from its position of fourth last year to last place despite an improvement reducing the delays from 341 days down to 309 days this year.
Express has released its figures just as the new Civil Justice Statistics show that the median time for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims to reach trial has fallen by 6.1 weeks compared with the same period in 2025, to 55.9 weeks.
While this is a positive step, it still means that cases reaching trial are taking more than a year to get there.
There has been less improvement for small claims. The median time taken to reach trial was 41 weeks, which is a slight increase compared with the same period last year.
The figures have also prompted comment from the Consumer Legal Association (CLA), of which Express Solicitors is a founding member. Express CEO James Maxey is a non-executive director on the CLA board, which was established to represent organisations supporting consumers through the civil justice system and contribute to the wider discussion around access to justice.
David Whitmore, Chair of the CLA, said:
“The year-on-year figures show welcome progress for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims. However, the quarter-on-quarter deterioration gives some cause for concern and should be watched closely.
“A single quarter can fluctuate, so it is too early to say that the longer-term trend has reversed. For injured people, delay can hold up compensation, rehabilitation, treatment and adaptations. Further improvement is needed.”
Express Solicitors’ research also highlights the challenges that can come with the increasing use of technology in the courts.
Digital systems have helped to speed up some parts of the court process, but they have not solved all of the problems facing people trying to progress claims.
The introduction of the Damages Claims Portal (DCP), for example, has made some parts of handling claims more automated. However, the experience of legal professionals using the system has also highlighted problems that can make it harder to move cases forward efficiently.
Damian Bradley, Partner and Head of Legal Operations at Express Solicitors, said:
“Whilst the DCP has doubtlessly improved the turnaround time, and the processing of claims has been more automated on an administrative level, it has brought with it a series of problems which has increased the friction for legal practitioners who are trying to progress these claims as efficiently as possible.
“The inbuilt system rules mean that strange decisions appear on cases that are either hard coded, depending on what is loaded into the system, or prone to user error where the Court service is allowing unqualified staff to process these claims on the DCP with no formal legal training or experience of how the claims are run.”
The latest figures should therefore be seen as a sign of progress, rather than evidence that the problems facing the civil justice system have been solved.
The CLA has also highlighted that median waiting times do not necessarily show the full experience of people whose cases face the longest delays.
Although the wait for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims has improved compared with 2025, average waiting times remain higher than they were before the pandemic.