§ Mr. BurnettTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will publish the results of the monitoring conducted by his Department into the effects on waiting times of the last increase in the small-claims limit. [17456]
§ Mr. HoonThe last increase in the small claims limit was made on 6 January 1996 and, as the monitoring of waiting times was introduced that year, the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. BurnettTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to increase the resources of the small claims court to ensure that the proposal to raise the small claims limit from April 1999 does not result in increased delays. [17408]
§ Mr. HoonThe proposed increase in the small claims limit must be considered along with the other civil justice reform proposals. Resources will be allocated to reflect changes in workload consequent upon implementation of the reforms as a whole.
§ Mr. BurnettTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will give a breakdown of the length of time taken by small claims cases in county courts by type of case; and what assessment he has made of the factors underlying delays. [17455]
§ Mr. HoonThe table below shows the average length of time taken for small claims cases in 1996 from the issue of the summons to the hearing. It was previously published in "Judicial Statistics 1996" (CM 3716) in July 1997. These cases take a substantially shorter time than those which proceed to trial.
378W
Average waiting times1 for arbitrations, by nature of claim, 1996 Nature of claim Average waiting time in weeks (issue of summons to arbitration) Debt 21 Negligence—personal injury 23 Other negligence 22 Non-possession housing dispute 26 Other 22 Total 21 1 Figures are based on three months sample data from selected county courts.