Written question asked by Caroline Spelman (Conservative) on Tuesday, 7 July 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 July 2009. It was answered by Bridget Prentice (Labour) on Wednesday, 15 July 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Interim Possession Order

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how long on average elapsed between an application for and a ruling on an Interim Possession Order in the latest period for which figures are available.

Answer: The main administrative system in the county courts of England and Wales (CaseMan) recorded that in 2008 there were 299 applications for an Interim Possession Order. CaseMan does not identify which orders following these applications were made for interim possession, were rulings on these, or were other types of orders. However, the first order will often be for interim possession and the second a ruling on this. Of the 128 cases that involved a second order being made, the average (mean) time from application to the second possession order was 45 days, while the median time was 29 days.

Secondary information