HC Deb 02 February 1966 vol 723 cc1085-6
37. Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

asked the Attorney-General if he will state what is now the average period between the issue of a summons in the county court for possession of premises under the Rent Act, 1965, and the decision in the case; what steps have been taken to expedite the procedure; and how many such cases are now awaiting hearing.

The Attorney-General

The latest figures available for the country as a whole relate to 8th December last, when the Rent Act came into force. On that date the average interval between the issue of a summons in the county court for possession of residential premises and the hearing of the case was 30 days, but in cases where a speedy hearing was requested on grounds of urgency, the average was 13 days. This is a reduction from the comparable figures of the previous quarter, which were 34 days and 16 days. There were 3,320 cases pending. Sample inquiries I have made concerning the present position indicate that there are now fewer cases pending and that the interval between the issue of the summons and the hearing is getting shorter. My noble Friend the Lord Chancellor asked all county court judges and registrars at the beginning of December to continue their efforts to expedite the hearing of urgent possession cases when the Rent Act had become law.

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

Can the right hon. and learned Gentleman say whether there is any difference in the periods as between town and country, with all the problems of county court circuits? Secondly, in what proportion of the total number of cases was the expedited procedure asked for?

The Attorney-General

I have given the figures for the country as a whole. I do not think that there is any dispropor- tion as between the two areas which the right hon. Gentleman has mentioned. His own constituency of Kingston-upon-Thames is facing special difficulties, but generally speaking the picture which I have given represents the position in the country as a whole. I cannot without notice give the figures for which the right hon. Gentleman asks about the number of expedited cases.