Small Claims Courts Anne Milton To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what average payment has been made to claimants in successful cases heard by small claims courts where the claimant (a) had legal representation and (b) had no legal representation in each year since 1997. Ms Harman 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 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anne Milton To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many cases 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. Ms Harman 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 | ---------------------------------------------------------------------