§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many claims were brought before small claims courts; how many of these were successful; and what was the total cost to the taxpayer of the small claims court service in the last year for which figures are available. [50200]
§ Mr. HoonClaims brought before the small claims court are: defended money claims where the amount claimed does not exceed £3,000 and personal injury cases where the amount claimed does not exceed £1,000. These cases are heard by arbitration. In the last financial year there were 97,813 arbitration hearings. Of those, in 87,320 cases the plaintiff was successful.
The majority of those issuing proceedings in county courts pay fees to cover the cost of providing the service. A cost to the taxpayer arises only where the party who would otherwise be required to pay a fee is legally aided or is granted fee exemption or remission. The cost of remission and exemption in non-family county court proceedings in 1997–98 was £1,088,407. Separate information is not available for the small claims court.