§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will make a statement concerning the performance of Central London County Court in processing work. [143595]
§ Jane KennedyThe Court Service uses two key performance indicators to measure the performance of the county courts. The first indicator measures the general quality of service provided, including time taken replying to correspondence, answering telephone calls, the key facilities available, the rate of success of recovering money on county court warrants and the proportion of Courts' Charter Standards met. The national target for this standard is 83 per cent. For the year 1999–2000, the Central London County Court achieved 74.5 per cent. For the period April to November 2000, the court has achieved 70.1 per cent.
The second key performance indicator measures the percentage of administrative process dealt with within five working days, for example, issuing a county court claim. The national target for this standard is 92 per cent. For the year 1999–2000, the court achieved 83.9 per cent. For the period April to November 2000, the court is achieving 70.3 per cent.
The Court has experienced difficulties in meeting its targets as the result both of a loss of experienced staff and a growth in workload. These issues are being addressed as a matter of urgency and there is already some sign of improvement.