Statistics

The Lord Chancellor’s Department has reported that between May 1999 and April 2001 the average number of contract and tort claims covered by the CPR issued in the county court fell by 20%. The average number of possession of land and recovery of goods claims dropped by less than 1%. The average length of time from issue to hearing in the county court had reduced from 639 days in September 1997 to 498 days in 2000–2001. The number of door-of-the-court settlements had dropped to only 8% in both the fast and multi-track. Nearly 70% of fast track cases were settled or withdrawn without a hearing, being 19% more than prior to the introduction of the CPR. The proportion of cases going to a full hearing had fallen by 10% to 23%.