Appeal took two and a half years to be properly heard, but HMCTS had already apologised for this

What happened

Ms B lodged an appeal against a decision made by the Child Support Agency in January 2012. A number of hearings took place, and in July 2014 the case was finalised. Throughout this time Ms B was in constant contact with HMCTS about when hearings were going to take place. A number of hearings were adjourned, either for more evidence to be provided or because not enough time was available.

Ms B complained to HMCTS. Part of her complaint was that the delay in her case being finalised meant that the set fee she had paid for legal representation had been wasted, because this ran out before the case concluded. HMCTS accepted that there had been some unnecessary delay, but said that the majority of the delay had been caused by the judicial decisions to adjourn the case, and the need for more the parties to provide more information. However, HMCTS apologised and offered Ms B £200.

What we found

We did not uphold this case because failings by HMCTS had already been accepted and put right. Any delay caused by HMCTS's administrative errors was not the main reason Ms B's appeal took so long to conclude. Her appeal was complex and required a number of adjournments to allow for more information to be submitted from all parties. When this information was not forthcoming, HMCTS referred the matter to the judge for their view on what should happen next.

There were times when the level of workload, and HMCTS's failure to act on judicial directions in a reasonable time, added to the delay. However, we did not agree with Ms B, as we could not be sure that if HMCTS's failings had not happened, that her appeal would have concluded while she still had the benefitof legal representation. With that in mind, we felt that the explanations and apologies HMCTS had already provided, together with the compensation of £200 was a suitable remedy.