HL Deb 28 July 1981 vol 423 cc671-2

34 Schedule 3, page 99, line 40, at end insert— 7B. After section 101 insert—

"Interest on judgment debts, etc.

"101A.—(l) The Lord Chancellor may be order made with the concurrence of the Treasury provide that any sums to which this subsection applies shall carry interest at such rate and between such times as may be prescribed by the order.

(2) The sums to which subsection (1) of this section applies are—

  1. (a) sums payable under judgments or orders given or made in a county court, including sums payable by instalments; and
  2. (b) sums which by virtue of any enactment are, if the county court so orders, recoverable as if payable under an order of that court, and in respect of which the county court has so ordered.

(3) The payment of interest due under subsection (1) of this section shall be enforceable as a sum payable under the judgment or order.

(4) The power conferred by subsection (1) of this section includes power—

  1. (a) to specify the descriptions of judgment or order in respect of which interest shall be payable;
  2. (b) to provide that interest shall be payable only on sums exceeding a specified amount;
  3. (c) to make provision for the manner in which and the periods by reference to which the interest is to be calculated and paid;
  4. (d) to provide that any enactment shall or shall not apply in relation to interest payable under subsection (1) of this section or shall apply to it with such modifications as may be specified in the order; and
  5. (e) to make such incidental or supplementary provisions as the Lord Chancellor considers appropriate.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4) of this section, an order under subsection (1) of this section may provide that the rate of interest shall be the rate specified in section 17 of the Judgments Act 1938 as that enactment has effect from time to time.

(6) The power to make an order under subsection (1) of this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.".".

The Lord Chancellor

My Lords, I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 34. The purpose of this amendment is to enable the Lord Chancellor (with Treasury concurrence) to provide a scheme for interest to be paid on certain county court judgment debts. The scheme would be made by statutory instrument subject to negative resolution. The background is that interest does not at present run on county court judgments and there have been criticisms of this position from time to time from the judiciary and elsewhere. At Report stage I undertook to put down an amendment in the Commons. In view of the way in which the county court operates and also in view of the need to limit the effect on the manpower in the public service, the scheme will need to be flexible, both as to those judgment debts which are to be included and the machinery by which interest will be payable. I propose to issue a consultative paper to canvass the opinions of interested parties. I beg to move this very highly technical amendment.

Moved, This this House doth agree with the Commons in the said amendment—(The Lord Chancellor.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.