HC Deb 27 October 2003 vol 412 cc48-9WS
Vera Baird

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the minimum fee for enforcing a judgment in the small claims court is; and whether the fees increase according to the value of the judgment. [134292]

Mr. Lammy

The fee for enforcing a judgment is dependent on the method of enforcement chosen by the litigant. Fees do not increase according to the value of the judgment or the amount to be enforced except for a warrant of execution, which is the most common form of enforcement. The current issue fee for a warrant not exceeding £125 is £30, for a warrant exceeding this amount it is £50. The current scale of fees for enforcing judgments is contained in the County Court Fees Order 1999 as amended and is shown as follows.

Enforcement 4.1 On an application for or in relation to enforcement of a judgment or order of a county court or through a county court: …by the issue of a warrant of execution against goods except a warrant to enforce payment of a fine

  1. (a) Where the amount for which warrant issues does not exceed £125—£30
  2. (b) Where the amount for which warrant issues exceeds £125—£50
  • 4.3 On an application for an order requiring a judgment debtor or other person to attend court to provide information in connection with enforcement of a judgment or order—£40
  • 4.4 On an application for a third party debt order or a charging order, or the appointment of a receiver by way of equitable execution—£50
  • 4.7 On an application for an attachment of earnings order (other than a consolidated attachment of earnings order) to secure payment of a judgment debt—£60.

Vera Baird

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the Secretary of State's policy is on non-adjudicating staff in the small claims court giving assistance to parties to actions there. [134293]

Mr. Lammy

Court staff are not legally trained. They are, however, encouraged to be as helpful as possible to customers. They should not give legal advice or advise on procedures that are outside their normal jurisdiction. The distinction between legal and procedural advice can sometimes be very fine. Where the matter is difficult or complex, the distinction may not always be easy to grasp or to explain. In such circumstances, it is wholly proper that court staff should err on the side of caution and respectfully ask court users to seek legal advice.

Vera Baird

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans the Secretary of State has to reform the small claims court. [134301]

Mr. Lammy

As part of the Department's rolling programme of improvements to civil court procedures, a pilot exercise, from 8 July 2002 to 21 February 2003, was initiated in a number of county courts. The pilot examined whether it would be possible to allocate cases to the small claims track without the use of an allocation questionnaire. The pilot collected a considerable amount of information, which indicated areas where changes to procedures might be appropriate. The Civil Procedure Rule Committee will be considering procedural issues and the Court Service the operational issues.

Vera Baird

To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the minimum fee chargeable by the small claims court for issuing a claim is; and what the sliding scale of fees for claims of increasing value is. [134304]

Mr. Lammy

The minimum fee chargeable for a claim issued under the Small Claims procedure is £30. The current scale of fees for claims up to and including £5,000 is contained in the County Court Fees Order 1999 as amended and is shown as follows. The Order also makes provision for fees to be remitted in full or reduced where payment of the fee could cause financial hardship.

Commencement of proceedings 1.1 On the commencement of originating proceedings using the Small Claims Procedure, to recover a sum of money… where the sum claimed

  1. (a) does not exceed £300—£30
  2. (b) exceeds £300 but not £500—£50
  3. (c) exceeds £500 but not £1,000—£80
  4. (d) exceeds £1,000 but not £5,000—£120
1.3 On the commencement of originating proceedings for any other remedy or relief—£130