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Small Claims (Courts)

I start by declaring my interests as they appear in the Register of Members' Interests, but I state that I have never undertaken personal injury work as a practising solicitor. The report has provided a useful and insightful analysis of the small claims system. I welcome its overall findings and congratulate the Constitutional Affairs Committee on its work. We have had a good debate and we have heard some valuable contributions. As the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) said, the small claims system is a low-cost, speedy and informal way of allowing litigants to bring claims for small monetary amounts. The system provides greater access to justice, as people are encouraged to bring their claims by the speed and informality of the small claims track. Many claims have been successfully pursued, when, without the small claims system, claimants may not have deemed it worth while resorting to legal action for such a minor amount of money. The report, however, highlights certain problems with the small claims system which require rectification. First, the report raises the issue of the current claim limits for personal injury cases and housing cases involving a landlord's failure to repair the property. There are clear justifications for increasing the maximum amount for which such claims may be brought in the small claims system. The current figure of £1,000 was introduced in 1991, and after a 15-year period, it is outdated. As a consequence of inflation, very few personal injury claims can now be brought in the small claims system. As the report states, within the Judicial Studies Board tariff guidance there are only five types of injury for which damages start at under £1,000. Claims for several minor injuries, which by right should be brought in the small claims track, are now being brought in alternative tracks. That means that the small claims system is not used frequently enough for personal injury cases.