§ Mr. Frank Fieldasked the Attorney-General how many staff were employed in county courts for the years 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982; and how many small claims applications were lodged in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe number of county court staff—including bailiffs—in post at 1 April in each of the years mentioned was as follows: 1979–5886; 1980–5528; 1981–5383; 1982–5351.
As regards small claims application, it is not possible to give precise figures, but the estimated numbers of money plaints issued for amounts that were below the financial limit for the time being for the small claims procedure are shown in the table below.
Estimated "small claims" plaints issued 1979 880,000 1980 980,000 1981 1,290,000 1982 1,500,000 Note: The financial limit for small claims procedures was raised from £200 to £500 in April 1981.