§ Mr. Haleasked the Attorney-General whether he is aware that a debtor committed to prison for failure to pay a single instalment of a county court judgment summons cannot be released without payment of the whole of the balance of the order; and if he will take steps to remedy this situation.
The Attorney-GeneralThe necessary powers already exist. Section 160 of the County Courts Act, 1959, empowers the judge to discharge the debtor upon such terms as he thinks fit if he is satisfied that the debtor is unable to pay the sum in respect of which he has been committed and that he ought to be discharged.