§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Attorney-General what plans he has to improve county court procedures to accelerate hearings.
§ The Attorney-GeneralOn 6 April 1989 the Lord Chancellor announced the Government's acceptance of the civil justice review body's proposals and his strategy for implementing them. The proposals, which are to be implemented over a period of five years, include a wide range of measures to improve the handling of cases and speed up their progress to trial or hearing. A number have already been introduced administratively and by rule changes in June and October this year.
§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Attorney-General what is the average length of time it takes to obtain a county court hearing and judgment; and if he will list his answer in tabular form by courts.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe information is not available in the form requested. However, the time between a request being received for hearing and the next available date for trial is monitored on a monthly basis. Table A shows the average waiting time measured on this basis, for the county courts and the High Court. Table B shows the figures for county court trial centres at 31 May 1990 and 30 September 1990. Trial centres provide continuous hearings and it can be taken that judgment follows very shortly after the conclusion of the trial. Actual waiting time in particular cases varies according to the circumstances of a particular case, including such factors as the availability of key witnesses or the appearance of new evidence.
Table A
County Court and High Court Waiting Times
- 1. County Court Trial Centres
- Average 11 weeks (ranging from 4–26 weeks depending on sitting pattern).
- 2. High Court
- 15 weeks.
277 - 3. Queen's Bench general list in London
- Warned list to hearing: 8 weeks. Fixed dates: 11–12 months.
278W
Table B Average waiting time for judges hearings county court trial centres Court name Waiting time in days 30 Sep 1990 31 May 1990 Barnsley 22 20 Birmingham 48 24 Blackpool 26 28 Bolton 35 35 Brighton 14 22 Bristol 27 39 Bromley 53 20 Burnley 18 15 Caernarfon 8 40 Canterbury 78 54 Cardiff 31 35 Carlisle 20 33 Chester 38 28 Coventry 26 40 Croydon 49 23 Darlington 27 36 Derby 75 32 Doncaster 30 32 Dudley-Wolverhampton 46 40 Durham 39 23 Exeter-Tiverton 7 58 Gateshead 35 34 Guildford 40 38 Hartlepool 34 30 Holywell 35 38 Lancaster 16 14 Leeds 70 116 Leicester 24 26 Lincoln 47 31 Liverpool 42 42 Llanelli 32 28 Macclesfield 41 34 Manchester 46 43 Mansfield 47 59 Mayors and City 37 39 Medway 33 18 Merthyr Tydfil 44 28 Middlesbrough 51 55 Milton Keynes 39 40 Newcastle Upon Tyne 14 32 Newport (Gwent) 30 51 Northampton 25 20 Norwich 78 43 Nottingham 26 21 Oldham 54 44 Oxford 43 38 Peterborough 39 32 Plymouth 26 36 Portsmouth 17 62 Preston 23 29 Scarborough 59 40 Sheffield 34 63 Slough 29 43 Southampton 33 59 Stafford 30 18 Stockton-on-Tees 35 35 Stoke on Trent 8 12 Sunderland 37 15 Swansea 55 27 Telford-Wellington 43 34 Thanet 40 36 Truro 63 51 Wakefield 41 44 Walsall 16 18 Warrington 25 37 Warwick 20 38 Watford 27 8 Westminster 49 35 Worcester 30 41 York and Malton 19 18 NB This information is in the form of a "snapshot" view of the position. It can vary significantly from month to month.