§ Mr. GummerTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans there are to take payment of fines, pursuant to County Court judgments by switch and debit cards. [69975]
§ Yvette CooperCounty Court judgments are principally paid directly to the person who is owed the money. Court leaflets advise the defendant to liaise with the claimant on which method of payment is most suitable, but suggest using a method which provides proof of payment. The only circumstance where payment of a judgment debt will be accepted by a court is where enforcement has been initiated, for example through a bailiff's warrant. In 2000 the Court Service piloted a system which gave the defendant the option of paying his/her judgment debt by debit card. The take up rate of this service was very low so it was decided not to implement this system across the courts at that time. We will keep this issue under review.
At present fines issued by county court judges for contempt of court can only be paid by cash or cheque. The Court Service is considering ways of providing court users with more choices in a number of areas, including payment methods. For instance, users can already issue a claim on line via the Internet and pay the fee for that claim using a debit or credit card.