Small Claims (Hansard, 16 December 1997)

§ Mr. Garnier
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the research that has been commissioned or received into small claims, with special reference to research(a) following up the concerns expressed in the National Audit Office survey relating to 113W unrepresented litigants and (b) concerning how many and what types of litigants and what types of case are unable to proceed without legal help or legal aid. [21279]

§ Mr. Hoon
(a) My Department has commissioned no research specifically following up the concerns expressed in the NAO survey. However, both Professor Baldwin's recently published book "Small Claims in the County Courts in England and Wales" and the statistical monitoring undertaken by the Court Service are relevant. (b) Consideration is being given as to the feasibility of such a project.

§ Mr. Garnier
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when Professor Baldwin's research into the small claims courts will be published; and what were the terms of reference of his work. [21277]

§ Mr. Hoon
The report of Professor Baldwin's research "Monitoring the Rise in the Small Claims Limit: Litigants' Experiences of Different Forms of Adjudication" was published on 15 December. He was asked to interview two groups of litigants who had been involved in cases in the range £1,000 to £3,000: a control group whose cases had gone to trial in open court, and those whose cases had been dealt with as small claims arbitrations, and to report his findings.

§ Mr. Garnier
To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list the factors that underlay the Lord Chancellor's decision to recommend an increase in the small claims limit to £5,000. [21205]

§ Mr. Hoon
The decision was based on a high level of litigant satisfaction with the small claims procedure compared with a lower level of satisfaction with the open court procedure for claims of the same size.

Type Under £1,000 £1,000–£3,000 £3,000–£5,000 £5,000–£10,000 £10,000–£15,000 Unliquidated Total

Personal injury 880 185 0 0 0 1,320 2,385

Other negligence 7,265 1,945 110 35 0 4,660 14,020

Debt 51,190 12,475 955 185 35 3,190 68,035

Non-possession housing disputes 1,140 440 35 0 0 0 1,690

Other 4,405 1,470 75 0 0 1,980 7,925

Total 64,875 16,545 1,175 220 35 11,230 94,050

(The figures are based on a three month sample and are rounded to the nearest 5. "Other" claims include those concerning breach of contract and return of goods).

Details of the number of arbitrations in 1997 have not yet been collated, but will be available early in the new year.

Type	Under £1,000	£1,000–£3,000	£3,000–£5,000	£5,000–£10,000	£10,000–£15,000	Unliquidated	Total
Personal injury	880	185	0	0	0	1,320	2,385
Other negligence	7,265	1,945	110	35	0	4,660	14,020
Debt	51,190	12,475	955	185	35	3,190	68,035
Non-possession housing disputes	1,140	440	35	0	0	0	1,690
Other	4,405	1,470	75	0	0	1,980	7,925
Total	64,875	16,545	1,175	220	35	11,230	94,050
(The figures are based on a three month sample and are rounded to the nearest 5. "Other" claims include those concerning breach of contract and return of goods).