§ Mr. John MacKayasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many small debt actions were raised in the last year for which figures are available; how many were successful; and in how many of the successful cases the pursuer was paid in full.
§ Mr. RifkindThe small debt court was abolished on 1 September 1976 and all cases which formerly were heard in that court are now dealt with as summary causes in the sheriff court. In the latest year for which published figures are available—1979–116,981 summary causes were raised and a further 20,753 summary causes were already before the court at the commencement of that year. Of this total of 137,734, decree for the pursuer was granted in 83,867 cases. Payments are not made to the court in these cases and therefore no information is obtainable as to the number of cases where the successful pursuer was paid in full.