§ Mr. McFallTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the timetable for introducing the next two tiers of the full costs recovery programme in civil actions raised in the sheriff court; and what mechanisms exist to monitor the impact of each tier of full cost recovery on the numbers of actions raised in the sheriff court and its effect on access to justice. [120088]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe current fee structure is design to recover 100 per cent. of administrative costs and one-third of judicial costs in civil proceedings in the sheriff courts and the supreme courts. There is no set timetable for introducing any further tranche of judicial costs and any such proposal would be laid before the House for approval. The Department regularly monitors the level of business coming before the courts. There is no evidence that fee levels are a deterrent to those wishing to raise actions.