§ 3.4 p.m.
§ Lord Sanderson of Bowden rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 12th July be approved [33rd Report from the Joint Committee].
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, this order has two purposes. The first is to raise the limit for privative or exclusive jurisdiction of the sheriff from £500 to £l.500. The second is similarly to raise the limit of summary cause actions in the sheriff court from £1,000 to £1,500. The order is made under Section 41 of the Sheriff Courts (Scotland) Act 1971. The figures for the two amounts were fixed in the 1971 Act at the same figure of £250.That figure was raised to £500 in 1976 and the figure for the summary cause limit alone was raised to £1,000 in 1981.
§ In the consultation paper which my noble and learned friend the Lord Advocate issued in March last year, concerned mainly with small claims procedure, it was proposed that both figures should be raised to £1,500, particularly to take account of the changes in the retail prices index. These proposals were generally welcomed. Accordingly, the order before your Lordships provides that the figure for both the sheriff's exclusive jurisdiction and the limit of summary cause actions in the sheriff court should be raised to £1,500. I beg to move
§ Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 12th July be approved [33rd Report from the Joint Committee].—(Lord Sanderson of Bowden].
482§ Lord Carmichael of KelvingroveMy Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for his explanation. I have made some inquiries: I have found no adverse comments on the order. On the contrary, most people seem to be in complete agreement with it.
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.