Potential hike in court fees for commercial disputes/litigation?

Proposals put forward by the Ministry of Justice at the end of 2013 may result in higher fees for commercial cases. The MoJ commented that commercial cases often involve substantial sums of money, and take up large amounts of court resources, but are subject to the same fee regime as any other claim in the civil courts. Alternatives being investigated are the introduction of a hearing fee based on the length of the hearing, or increasing the fee cap from the current £10,000 to £15 or even £20,000. The changes are likely to be implemented this summer. What the impact upon the number of claims will be, remains to be seen.