§ Mr. MacGregorasked the Attorney-General (1) what would be the estimated increase necessary in the charges for obtaining information from the Register of County Court Judgments in order to avoid any further shortfall in the cost of maintaining the register between the current year and the forthcoming year;
(2) what overall percentage increases in charges have been made for those obtaining information from the Register of County Court Judgments in each of the past three years; and what overall increases in revenues have resulted;
(3) what has been the deficit/surplus in maintaining the Register of County Court Judgments in each of the past three years; and what is the estimated deficit/surplus for the current year and the forthcoming year.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe Registry's income and deficits have been:
Income 1974–75 … £102,000 1975–76 … £122,000 1976–77 (estimated) … £258,000 Deficit 1974–75 … £102,000 1975–76 … £169,000 1976–77 (estimated) … £124,000 The charges remained unchanged from 1959 until 1975, when the smaller fees were on average quadrupled, and the bulk charges trebled. To avoid a deficit in 1977–78, it will be necessary to raise charges by over 60 per cent.
§ Mr. MacGregorasked the Attorney-General how many judgments have been recorded in the Register of County Court Judgments in each of the past three years.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe number of judgments recorded in the Register of County Court Judgments was 701,413 in 1974, 760,075 in 1975 and 745,298 in 1976.