§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will publish a table of court fees in the county court and the Crown court in the years since 1964, showing the percentage increase and showing the corresponding increase in the cost of living index.
Mr. John M. TaylorTables of sample fees chargeable in the county courts and the Supreme Court—fees are not chargeable in the Crown court—in the years 1964, 1982 and 1994 follow. The number of fees, the number of amendments, and alterations in fee structures over the period make a direct comparison of all fees impractical. The sample of fees shown includes those which are most significant for general court users and by volume of business. All fees orders are made and published as statutory instruments.
Comparisons are shown with 1982 because until then no attempt was made to recover 'allied service' costs falling on other Departments' votes—accommodation, stationery and superannuation. From mat year, following observations by the Committee of Public Accounts on this policy of limited cost recovery, the policy adopted was that fees should recover full costs except for judicial costs. The policy has now been further modified to include judicial costs among those which should be covered by fee income taken as a whole.
The rise in the cost of living index—the retail prices index—between 1964 and 1982 was 862 per cent., and between 1964 and 1994 was 1,567 per cent.
275Wamended five times since, most recently in 1993 (SI 1993/3191).
The Supreme Court Fees Order 1961 contained 146 separate fees, and the 1980 order 57 fees; there were 16 orders and amending orders between 1964 and 1994.