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The Ministry of Justice’s plans to increase the court’s fees for divorce from £410 to £750 have been met with further disapproval with a number of the UK’s top judges having claimed that they will undermine the country’s civil and family justice systems. The criticisms came via an official senior judiciary response to the MOJ’s proposals and stated that the changes would merely mean that, whilst it was more expensive for people using the courts to start proceedings, they would see no improvement to the service they received. The MOJ have proposed that a number of the court’s fees increase in order to cover a £150m deficit. Notably, however, it has also been recommended that certain fees – including those concerning divorce – grow disproportionately to the point where they cover more than the costs that the courts accrue as a result of the application and the work that follows, with the judges having stated that this "represents a departure from the Government's policy of not charging more than a service costs." The response paid particular attention to the fact that the increase could amount to indirect discrimination in that it could place wives at a disadvantage, noting that the vast majority of petitioners are women and that these individuals are, generally, less affluent than their husbands. As a fee of £750 would, the judges argue, deter many of them from filing for divorce and prevent them from obtaining a share of their spouse’s assets. Furthermore, it was argued that many would begin new relationships and, as they would be unable to remarry, would be unprotected in the event of these relationships ending also. The MOJ have justified increasing the costs of filing for a divorce by arguing that divorcing couples would be happy to pay a larger fee in order to end their marriages. In response, the judges have disputed this noting that it is only the Petitioner, and not the couple, that pay these fees. The reports also noted that the original consultation paper put forward no argument to support its claim that divorcing couples would be willing to pay an enhanced fee. Claims that divorcing couples are more likely to be in a position where they can afford enhanced fees are also disputed within the judge’s response. The courts currently charge £410 in fees for divorces, though people may be entitled to have these fees reduced or waived under certain circumstances, though the actual administrative costs that the courts accrues via an uncontested divorce currently stand at £270.