§ Mr. Baldryasked the Attorney-General what statistical series are kept by the Lord Chancellor's Department which relate to divorce.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe following statistical series relating to divorce are kept by the Lord Chancellor's Department:
- (1) Petitions filed for dissolution, nullity and judicial separation, showing the nature of the allegation and whether by husband or wife as petitioner.
- (2) Decrees nisi granted for dissolution and nullity, and judicial separation decrees granted, showing the facts proved and whether for petitioner or respondent.
- (3) Decrees absolute granted for dissolution and nullity.
- (4) Defended divorce cases set down for trial and disposed of.
- (5) Interlocutory and miscellaneous proceedings including applications under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, summonses and applications relating to children, and decrees granted under special procedure.
Most of these series are collected on a monthly basis. Annual totals are published each year in "Judicial Statistics", and in the latest edition—for 1982, Cmnd. 9095—may be found in tables 4.10 and 4.14.
§ Mr. Baldryasked the Attorney-General how many applications were made in 1979, 1981 and 1983, respectively, for leave to file a petition for divorce within three years, of marriage; and, of those, how many were refused leave as showing insufficient grounds.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe number of applications for leave to file a petition for divorce within three years of marriage is given in the table for 1979, 1981 and for the first nine months of 1983. Information is not collected on the number of such applications that are refused. However, figures are collected, and are given in the table, on the number of divorce decrees pronounced in cases where leave to file a petition has been granted either in the current year or prior to it.
Applications under section 3 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 for leave tole a petition for divorce within three years of marriage, and decrees pronounced subsequent to leave being granted England and Wales 1979 1981 1983* Applications for leave 1,551 1,977 1,269 Decrees pronounced† 554 1,093 529 * January to September. † Some of the decrees pronounced in any given year will be in cases where the application for leave was made in a previous year.
§ Mr. Baldryasked the Attorney-General what was the total sum spent on legal aid for parties in divorce actions in 1979 1981 and 1983, respectively.
§ The Attorney-GeneralI refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms.270W Harman) on 17 January 1984. The fourth column of figures in the table in that reply gives the total of the gross payments made on legal aid bills for matrimonial proceedings in the High Court and county court for each of the last 10 financial years.