Information on the average payment made to claimants on successful cases heard by small claims courts is not collected since payment will often be made between the parties without the court having been informed. The following table gives information on the average level of award in cases where the claimant (a) had legal representation and (b) had no legal representation in each year since 1997, drawn from a sample collected from 29 county courts during the months of February, July and November each year and aggregated to provide national figures.
Number of claims made where claimant was represented by a solicitor Average size of award for claims using a solicitor (£) Number of claims made by the claimant in person Average size of award for claims made by claimant in person (£) 1997 43,499 829.47 54,314 561.25 1998 45,517 1052.46 53,175 760.92 1999 46,149 884.35 42,255 706.29 2000 27,161 1389.41 28,675 1252.92 2001 29,877 1363.21 28,456 1344.92 2002 23,799 1157.99 31,920 1878.99 2003 22,114 1651.11 30,029 1387.44 2004 20,059 1411.48 26,041 1436.94 2005 20,554 1081.61 26,967 1029.15
Information on the number of cases that have been heard by small claims courts where (a) claimants had legal representation and (b) claimants had no legal representation in each year since 1997 is contained in the following table. The data are derived from case samples collected from 29 county courts during the months of February, July and November each year, which has then been aggregated to provide national figures.
Number of claims Represented by a Solicitor Claimant in person 1997 97,813 43,499 54,314 1998 98,692 45,517 53,175 1999 88,404 46,149 42,255 2000 55,836 27,161 28,675 2001 58,333 29,877 28,456 2002 55,719 23,799 31,920 2003 52,143 22,114 30,029 2004 46,100 20,059 26,041 2005 47,521 20,554 26,967