§ Mr. Brazierto ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what measures his Department is taking to monitor the effects of the Afzalv. Ford ruling; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John M. TaylorMy Department is collecting statistics on the number of cases concluded each month through arbitration in the county courts, and a sample of cases concluded at trial broken down by the type of case and amount of the award. These data will, over a period, indicate whether changes have taken place, for example in relation to the number of lower value personal injury cases dealt with in the small claims procedure, and the total number of arbitrations compared with the number of trials.