Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2023

Q: 7. Judgments

Judgments were up 15% compared to same quarter in 2022 There were 264,000 judgments made in January to March 2023, compared to 230,000 in the same quarter of 2022. Of these judgments, 240,000 (91%) were default judgments. Figure 5: All claims, judgments and default judgments, Q1 (January to March) 2018 to Q1 (January to March) 2023 (Source: tables 1.2 and 1.4) There were 264,000 judgments made in January to March 2023, up 15% compared to the same quarter of 2022. Of these, 91% were default judgments, up 1pp on its share in January to March 2022. These have remained relatively stable since 2018, with around 9 out of every 10 judgments resulting in a default judgment. The second largest type of judgment was ‘admissions’ [footnote 3] , of which there were 14,000 in January to March 2023, up 4% on the same quarter in 2022 (from 13,000). ‘Admission’ judgments accounted for 5% of all judgments.

Question 1

1. Main Points

Accepted Answer


Increase in County Court claims, driven by money claims	Compared to the same period in 2022, County Court claims from January to March 2023 were up 8% to 443,000, the highest volume since Q1 2020. Of these, 371,000 (84%) were money claims (up 9%). Compared to the same quarter in 2019 (pre-covid baseline), County Court claims were down 18%.
Damages claims were down 10% at 23,000	The decrease in damages claims was driven by a fall in both personal injury claims (down 8% to 17,000) and Other Damages claims (down 13% to 6,800) compared to the same quarter in 2022. Compared to the same quarter in 2019 (pre-covid baseline), total damages claims were down 29%.
The number of claims defended decreased compared to 2022 while the number of trials increased	There were 62,000 claims defended (down 5%) and 15,000 claims that went to trial in January to March 2023 (up 11%) compared to the same quarter in 2022, the highest volume of trials since Q1 2020. Compared to the pre-covid baseline, claims defended were down 15% and claims that went to trial were down 3%.
Mean time taken from claim to hearing continues to rise for multi/fast track claims	The mean time taken for small claims and multi/fast track claims to go to trial was 51.9 weeks and 79.9 weeks, less than a week longer and 6.3 weeks longer than the same period in 2022 respectively. Compared to 2019, these measures are 14.9 weeks longer for small claims and 21.4 weeks longer for multi/fast track claims.
Judgments were up 15% and default judgments were up 16%	Judgments were up 15% (to 264,000) in January to March 2023, compared to the same period in 2022; with 91% of these being default judgments. Compared to the same period in 2019, judgments were down 27%, 90% of which were default judgments.
Enforcement applications and orders fell to 10,000 and 8,300 respectively	Enforcement applications were down 18%, while enforcement orders were also down 19% when compared to the same quarter in 2022. Compared to 2019 (pre-covid baseline), volumes of enforcement applications and enforcement orders were both down 55%.
Warrants issued increased to 85,000	Warrants issued were up 21% when compared to the same quarter in 2022, the highest volume since Q1 2020, and down 12% compared to 2019 (pre-covid baseline).
600 judicial review applications in Q1 2023	There were 600 applications for Judicial Reviews in Q1 2023, up 8% on Q1 2022. Of the 97 cases in 2023 Q1 that have so far reached the permission stage, 14 (14%) were found to be ‘totally without merit’.

This publication gives civil county court and judicial review statistics for the latest quarter (January to March 2023), compared to the same quarter in 2022. Should users wish to compare the latest outturn against 2019 as a pre-covid baseline, or to a time period during the covid period, they can do so using the accompanying statistical tables. This quarter’s publication also includes annual data on cases in the Royal Courts of Justice between January and December 2022. For more details, please see the supporting document.

We are considering streamlining the RCJ publication to include only the tables our users find helpful. We are therefore seeking to understand which tables are used to help us prioritise improvements. You are invited to please complete the online survey here, by 31st December 2023. This should take 5-10 minutes.

Statistics on the Business and Property Court for England and Wales have also been published alongside this quarterly bulletin as Official Statistics. For technical detail, please refer to the accompanying support document.

For general feedback related to the content of this publication, please contact us at: CAJS@justice.gov.uk

Question 2

2. Statistician’s comment

Accepted Answer

This quarter, volumes of claims issued have increased to their highest level since Q1 2020 (pre-Covid19) mainly driven by rises in money claims. Volumes of hearings, judgments and warrants have also increased compared to the same quarter in 2022, which could be linked to continued recovery following Covid19. These increases follow a period of general stability since 2021, however it is too early to confirm whether these upturns will continue. Volumes of all civil actions remain below levels in the same quarter of 2019.

Timeliness figures have remained relatively stable since Q1 2021 for small claims yet continue to increase gradually for fast and multi-track trials, which still contain a considerable proportion of cases which were issued during the pandemic. Measures have been put in place to help reduce waiting times, as reflected in the increased number of hearings in the current quarter compared to Q1 2022. However, we expect timeliness measures to be impacted for as long as cases stayed during the pandemic remain in the open caseload.

Provisional data available shows there were 320,000 days sat by judges in 2022, the second highest number of sitting days since 2011, this was 3% lower than last year’s sitting days which were at a record high.

Question 3

3. Consultation Response

Accepted Answer

We recently conducted a survey to better understand who uses these statistics, how they use them and what changes might help us meet user needs better. The survey was launched on 1st September 2022 and ran for 5 months with 7 responses received. The findings showed that respondents regularly use the bulletin and main civil tables but suggested that the tables for Privacy Injunctions and BPC are used to a lesser extent. There were also several suggestions for increased granularity within the civil claims data which we are currently investigating. We will review all feedback given through this survey and assess what changes can be made to this publication to help better meet user needs, subject to resource constraints.

Although the closing date for this consultation has now passed, user engagement is a continuous process, and users are invited to submit their comments and suggestions to the team at any time using the contact details at the end of this document.

Question 4

4. Claims Summary

Accepted Answer

County court claims were up 8% on the same quarter of 2022, driven by money claims.

There were 443,000 County Court claims lodged in January to March 2023, the highest volume of claims issued since Q1 2020. Of these, 394,000 (89%) were money and damages claims (up 8% from January to March 2022).

Non-money claim volumes were at 49,000, up 10% when compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Mortgage and landlord possession claims were up 25% over the same period to 27,000, ‘other non-money claims’ were down 6% to 18,000 and claims for return of goods were stable at 2,800.

Figure 1: County Court claims by type, Q1 (January to March) 2018 to Q1 (January to March) 2023 (Source: table 1.2)

In the most recent quarter, total claims were up 8% compared to the same period in 2022 (from 411,000 to 443,000). Of these, 394,000 were money and damages claims, up 8% from January to March 2022 (from 366,000). Money and damages claims made up 89% of all claims in January to March 2023, stable on its share in January to March 2022.

Prior to 2020, claim volumes had been relatively unchanged but volatile, driven by a few “bulk issuers” slowing down and then ramping up their volume of claims. Claim volumes decreased significantly following the outbreak of Covid-19. After an initial recovery towards pre-pandemic levels in the second half of 2020, claims issued remained relatively stable. Although volumes have risen in 2023 Q1 this is still down 18% compared to the same quarter in 2019.

Non-money claims generally decreased between 2015 and Q1 2020. While these showed less of an impact following Covid-19 in contrast to money and damages claims, the recovery to pre-Covid19 volumes has been slow. In the current quarter, these claims were up 10% (from 44,000 to 49,000) compared to the same period in 2022, driven by increases in Mortgage and Landlord Possession claims. However, these remain down 30% below the same quarter in 2019 (pre-covid baseline).

Within non-money claims, ‘other’ non-money claims have shown a decline since 2018. In the most recent quarter, these were down 6% (from 20,000 to 18,000) compared to the same period in 2022. These continued decreases are likely to be partly as a result of whiplash reforms reducing the volume of road traffic accident claims going to court.

The overall trend in Mortgage and Landlord Possession claims has been decreasing since a peak of 60,000 in January to March 2014. Following the impact of Covid-19, when it fell to 3,200 – lowest recorded, these have increased gradually to 27,000 claims in January to March 2023, up 25% compared to the same quarter of 2022 (22,000 claims). However, this remains down 25% compared to the same quarter in 2019. Further details can be found in the Mortgage and Landlord Possessions publication here.

Claims for return of goods increased steadily to a high of 3,500 in July-September 2018 but have since declined. Following a further decline due to the impact of Covid-19, there has been recovery in these figures, with volumes stable (at 2,800) in January to March 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. These volumes have remained relatively stable since Q1 2022 to pre-covid levels.

Question 5

5. Money Claims

Accepted Answer

Money claims were up 9% (to 371,000 claims) in January to March 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Money claims valued up to £500 were up 13% over this period to 171,000, driving the overall trend in money claims.

Damages claims were down 10% at 23,000 driven by decreases in both personal injury claims (down 8%) to 17,000 and Other Damages claims (down 13%) to 6,800 compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Other damages claims increased steeply from 3,200 in Q2 2020 to a high of 14,000 in Q3 2021, driven by rises in PPI-related claims. These have since fallen yet remain above levels prior to these increases in the current quarter, up 127% at 6,800 compared to Q1 2019 (3,000).

Figure 2: Money claims by monetary value, Q1 (January to March) 2018 to Q1 (January to March) 2023 (Source: civil workload CSV^{[footnote 1]})

Historically, money claims reached a peak in April to June 2017, after which the implementation of the Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) for Debt Claims in October 2017 led to a sharp drop in claims. An increasing trend resumed the following quarter, suggesting that the impact of the PAP on claim volumes was temporary. The main aim of the protocol is to encourage early engagement between parties to resolve disputes without needing to start court proceedings. In the most recent quarter (January to March 2023), there were 371,000 claims, up 9% on the same quarter in 2022 (340,000 claims).

This quarter, the majority (86%) of money claims were processed and issued at the County Court Business Centre (CCBC). There were 318,000 such claims at the CCBC in January to March 2023 (up 13% on the same quarter in 2022). CCBC claims were particularly affected by Covid-19 and associated actions, recording a more significant decrease than other money claims. This is due to bulk issuers almost completely ceasing their issue during the immediate response to the pandemic. These have now returned to historic trend levels and may account for the increase this quarter.

The increase in money claims is driven by claims valued under £500. These were up 13% to 171,000 claims in the period January to March 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022, and account for 46% of total money claims in the most recent quarter. This is close to historical levels with this category making up 48% of total money claims in January to March 2019. This trend may be typical of the current economic cycle where people are more likely to claim – even for small amounts – in a cost-of-living crisis when disposable income falls due to high inflation, low or no economic growth, and continued rises in interest rates.

Until this quarter, other than in Q2 2020, damages claims have fluctuated between 24,000 and 38,000 claims each quarter over the last five years (since January to March 2018). However, in the current quarter volumes were down 10% to 23,000 in January to March 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This was driven by decreases in both personal injury claims down 8% from 18,000 to 17,000 and other damages claims, down 13% from 7,800 to 6,800, following steep increases since Q3 2020. These were a result of PPI-related claims that rely on a section of the Consumer Credit Act that relates to unfair relationships^{[footnote 2]} and follows a series of court rulings on the same matter. Other damages claims accounted for 29% of all damages claims in the most recent quarter, down 1pp compared to January to March 2022, when they accounted for 30% of all damages claims. Personal injury claims were down 8% compared to the same period in 2022, continuing a generally decreasing trend since Q4 2020.

5.1 Allocations (table 1.3)

In January to March 2023, 35,000 money and damages claims were allocated to track, down 16% (from 41,000) compared to the same period in 2022. Compared to January to March 2022, of these allocations:

23,000 were allocated to small claims, down 16% on January to March 2022. This accounts for 67% of all allocations (compared to 67% of all allocations in the same quarter of 2022);
9,300 were allocated to fast track, down 15% on January to March 2022. This accounts for 27% of all allocations (compared to 27% of all allocations in the same quarter of 2022);
2,200 were allocated to multi-track, down 12% on January to March 2022. This accounts for 6% of all allocations (compared to 6% of all allocations in the same quarter of 2022);

Question 6

6. Defences (including legal representation) and Trials

Accepted Answer

The number of claims defended was down 5% to 62,000 compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Of those claims defended, 45% had legal representation for both claimant and defendant, 33% had representation for claimant only, and 4% for defendant only.

The number of trials was up 11% to 15,000 compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Average time taken for small claims was 51.9 weeks (less than a week longer compared to the same quarter in 2022) and for multi and fast track claims it was 79.9 weeks (6.3 weeks longer than January to March 2022).

Of those claims defended in January to March 2023, 45% had legal representation for both claimant and defendant, 33% had representation for claimant only, and 4% for defendant only. Almost all (93%) damages claim defences had legal representation for both the defendant and claimant, compared with 27% of money claim defences.

Figure 3: Proportion of civil defences and legal representation status, January to March 2023 (Source: table 1.6)

The total number of claims defended was down 5% in January to March 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022, from 65,000 to 62,000 cases. This was driven by a decrease in defended damages claims (down 19% from 22,000 to 18,000). On the contrary, mortgage and landlord possession defences were up 32% from 3,000 to 4,000 compared to January to March 2022.

6.1 Trials and Time Taken to Reach Trial (table 1.5)

Defended cases which are not settled or withdrawn, generally result in a trial. In total, there were 15,000 trials in January to March 2023, up 11% compared to the same period in 2022. Of the claims that went to trial, 12,000 (76%) were small claims trials (up 19% compared to the same quarter in 2022) and 3,600 (24%) were fast and multi-track trials (down 8% from the same quarter of 2022).

Figure 4: Average number of weeks from claim being issued to initial hearing date, Q1 (January to March) 2018 to Q1 (January to March) 2023 (Source: table 1.5)

In January to March 2023, it took an average of 51.9 weeks between a small claim being issued and the claim going to trial, less than a week longer than the same period in 2022.

Measures were put in place in response to the challenges of the pandemic to help with the increasing timeliness to resolve small claims including the increased use of small claims mediation and Early Neutral Evaluation (where a judge will try and engineer agreement without any finding on the fact). These measures, when successful, result in outcomes which are not used within the timeliness calculations. This means the final cases used in timeliness measures include a disproportionate number of more complex cases which take longer to dispose of.

For multi/fast track claims, it took on average 79.9 weeks to reach a trial, 6.3 weeks longer than in January to March 2022, continuing to exceed the upper limit of the range seen in 2009-2019 (which was 52 to 61 weeks).

Covid-19 and associated actions have led to an uptick in time taken for all claims to reach trial. Prior to this, a sustained period of increasing receipts had increased the time taken to hear civil cases and caused delays to case progress.

Question 7

7. Judgments

Accepted Answer

Judgments were up 15% compared to same quarter in 2022

There were 264,000 judgments made in January to March 2023, compared to 230,000 in the same quarter of 2022. Of these judgments, 240,000 (91%) were default judgments.

Figure 5: All claims, judgments and default judgments, Q1 (January to March) 2018 to Q1 (January to March) 2023 (Source: tables 1.2 and 1.4)

There were 264,000 judgments made in January to March 2023, up 15% compared to the same quarter of 2022. Of these, 91% were default judgments, up 1pp on its share in January to March 2022. These have remained relatively stable since 2018, with around 9 out of every 10 judgments resulting in a default judgment.

The second largest type of judgment was ‘admissions’^{[footnote 3]}, of which there were 14,000 in January to March 2023, up 4% on the same quarter in 2022 (from 13,000). ‘Admission’ judgments accounted for 5% of all judgments.

Question 8

8. Warrants and Enforcements

Accepted Answer

Warrants issued were up 21% when compared to same quarter in 2022

In January to March 2023, 85,000 warrants were issued, up 21% from 70,000 in the same quarter of 2022. Of these, 71,000 (84%) were warrants of control, up 17% compared to the same period in 2022.

Enforcement applications were down 18% and enforcement orders were down 19% when compared to January to March 2022

This fall in enforcement applications was driven by a decrease in Attachment of earnings (AoE) applications which were down 40% (from 7,300 to 4,400), whilst the fall in enforcement orders was driven by a decline in both AoE orders, down 20% (from 4,100 to 3,300), and charging orders made, down 34% (from 4,600 to 3,000).

Figure 6: Warrants and enforcements issued – Q1 (January to March) 2018 to Q1 (January to March) 2023 (Source: tables 1.7 and 1.8)

8.1 Warrants (table 1.7)

In the latest quarter (January to March 2023) there were 85,000 warrants issued, up 21% (from 70,000) on the same quarter in 2022. Warrants of control accounted for 84% of total warrants, and were up 17%, from 61,000 to 71,000, compared to the same period in 2022.

There were 14,000 possession warrants issued in January to March 2023, up 44% (from 9,400) on the same quarter in 2022. These have continued a general upwards trend since Q3 2020, following a sharp drop in Q2 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19.

8.2 Enforcements (table 1.8)

In January to March 2023, there were 10,000 enforcement-related order applications (which include attachment of earnings orders, charging orders, third party debt orders, administration orders, and orders to obtain information), down 18% compared to the same quarter of 2022. All application types were down, except third party debt applications (up 11%) and charging order applications (up 13%). In particular, attachment of earnings (AoE) applications were down 40% (from 7,300 to 4,400).

There were 8,300 enforcement-related orders made in January to March 2023, down 19% compared to the same quarter of 2022. Orders fell across AoE orders, which were down 20% (from 4,100 to 3,300), and charging orders, which were down 34% (from 4,600 to 3,000), driving the overall fall in volumes. All other types of enforcement order remained relatively stable over this period.

Over the longer term, there has been a decreasing trend in enforcement-related applications received and orders made since 2009, possibly due to claimants’ preference for using warrants instead to retrieve money, property or goods.

Question 9

9. Judicial reviews[footnote 4]

Accepted Answer

There were 600 judicial review applications received in Q1 2023, up 8% on Q1 2022 (560) and down 36% on Q1 2019 (from 930) as a pre-Covid19 baseline.

Of the 600 applications received in Q1 2023, 16% have already closed, and 14 were found to be ‘Totally Without Merit’ (14% of cases that reached the permission stage).

Figure 7: Judicial Review Applications, by type; Q1 2016 to Q1 2023 (Source: JR CSV)

Quarterly JR Receipts – January to March 2023:

Of the 600 applications received in Q1 2023, 170 were civil immigration and asylum applications, 400 were civil (other), and 29 were criminal, down 10%, up 22% and down 31% respectively on Q1 2022. 4 of the civil immigration and asylum cases have since been transferred to the UTIAC.

Of the applications that were made in Q1 2023, 16% are now closed. Of the total applications, 97 reached the permission stage in Q1 2023, and of these:

14% (14) were found to be totally without merit.
34 cases have already been granted permission to proceed and 60 were refused at the permission stage. None of the cases refused at permission stage went on to be granted permission at the renewal stage.
34 cases were assessed to be eligible for a final hearing and of these, 2 have since been heard.
the mean time from a case being lodged to the permission decision was 39 days. Although timeliness for cases being lodged to final hearing are included in the tables, this is based on too few cases to be meaningful. The actual time taken for these cases will only be known when they have had time to work their way through the system.

9.1 Applications lodged against departments (table 2.5)

Table 2.5 presents judicial review figures by defendant type (i.e. individual government department or public body). This table provides the number of judicial review applications lodged, permission granted to proceed to final hearing, and decisions found in favour of the claimant at final hearing.

The information presented is derived from the ‘defendant name’ – a free text field completed by the claimant, which is matched and grouped by department. All efforts have been made to quality assure the data presented. However, this is a manually typed field, and as such is open to inputting errors and should be used with caution.

The key findings for Q1 2023 are:

Local Authorities had the largest number of JR applications lodged against them, with 160 applications. Of these, 20 were granted permission to proceed to final hearing (12% of applications) to date.
The second largest recipient of JR cases was the Home Office, with 140 cases received, of which to date 5 were granted permission to proceed to final hearing (3% of applications).
The third largest recipient was the Ministry of Justice, having 120 applications lodged against it. Of these, 5 were granted permission to proceed to final hearing (4% of applications) to date.

A more granular view of the JR data by department and case type can be found in the data visualisation tool found here. Feedback is welcome on this tool to ensure it meets user needs.

Question 10

10. Royal Courts of Justice

Accepted Answer

Annual appeals that are administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) can be found in the accompanying Royal Court of Justice and Sitting Days tables. Key findings covering the year to 2022 are summarised below :

The Court of Appeal Criminal Division saw a 3% decrease over the year in the number of applications received, from 3,900 in 2021 to 3,800 in 2022. Decreases were recorded across all three appeal application types (conviction, sentence and other^{[footnote 6]} appeal applications, down 1%, 4% and 3% respectively). However, figures are still below pre-Covid19 levels, with the total number of applications received 17% lower than in 2019. Compared to 2019, conviction and sentence applications both decreased by 19%, whereas other applications increased by 37%. (RCJ Table 2.1)

The Court of Appeal Civil Division had 608 appeals filed in 2022, up 15% on 2021. Of the appeals filed in 2022, the largest number (107 appeals, 18%) came from the Chancery. The number of disposals in 2022 was the lowest since 2003, and decreased by 34% to 372. This reduction is primarily due to the reduction in asylum work when compared to 2021. Chancery cases made up the largest category (67 cases, 18% of all disposals), followed by Family (56 cases, 15% of disposals). (RCJ Table 2.3)

Civil Division Timeliness showed a decrease in average time taken for Permission to Appeal (PTA) decisions. Mean time taken decreased by 6 weeks compared to 2021, to 14 weeks. (RCJ Table 2.4)

Chancery Division: Proceedings started increased by 9% compared to last year, to 11,700. Within the Chancery Division, total proceedings have decreased by 2%, from 3,700 to 3,600. (RCJ Table 3.1)

Winding-up orders increased by 310% this year, from 309 to 1,265. This is likely because the number of Winding up petitions issued by HMRC were reduced during the pandemic. (RCJ Table 3.6)

The High Court – The King’s Bench - had 4,500 proceedings started in 2022, a decrease of 3% compared to 2021. Of these proceedings, the most common types in 2022 were for “personal injury actions”, “clinical negligence” and “other negligence”, which made up 32%, 19% and 18% of all proceedings respectively. (RCJ Table 4.2), the share in for personal injury has increased by 8 percentage points compared to 2021 when the share was 24%, 20% and 19% respectively.

Commercial Court claims continue to reverse their long-term downward trend seen since 2011. Compared to 2021, claims increased by 34% (to 1,033 claims). This is down 22% from the peak of 1,330 seen in 2011, but up 116% from the low of 480 in 2019. The largest category of claim remains “General commercial contracts and arrangements, including agency agreements”, with 250 such claims issued in 2022. (RCJ Table 5.4)

Days sat by Judge^{[footnote 7]} - there were 320,000 days sat by judges in 2022, down from 330,000 (a decrease of 3%) in 2021. The number of days this year is provisional. An issue was discovered where sitting day activity was not being captured due to a change in procedures of some courts. The actual figure will be updated as soon as possible when the issue is rectified.

This decrease was driven by a fall in County Court sittings, which fell by 6% (from 215,000 to 202,000 sitting days). Despite this decrease 2022 recorded the second highest sitting days since 2011. (RCJ Table 9.1). Crown Court sitting days increased by 3% from 100,000 in 2021 to 103,000 in 2022 and formed around a third of all sitting days in 2022.

Within the court types, the Court of Appeal Civil Division, High Court Family Division and T&C Courts saw the largest increases in sitting days, all increasing by 6% in 2022. The largest decrease in 2022 was in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division sitting days; which decreased by 13% from 2,700 in 2021 to 2,300 in 2022, the lowest annual sittings recorded since 2011 for the court. (RCJ Table 9.2)

Circuit judges continue to make up the largest proportion of days sat (36% of all days sat in 2022). Deputy circuit judges and Deputy High Court Judges increased 21% and 20% respectively (to 3,000 and 2,800).

The majority of regions’ days sat decreased in 2022, except for the category ‘Elsewhere – Bulk centre’ which increased by 16%, ‘Royal Courts of Justice’, which increased by 2% and ‘London’, which increased by 1%.

Some of the measures being taken to help improve waiting times and reduce the outstanding caseloads include:

24 Nightingale courtrooms will be kept going into the 2023/24 financial year, increasing courtrooms available for all jurisdictions
Removing the limit on sitting days in the Crown Court for the second financial year in a row

For further information on these summarised figures or on the statistics available in relation to the appeals courts’, please see the accompanying tables; ‘Royal Courts of Justice, 2022’.

We are considering streamlining the RCJ publication to include only the tables our users find helpful. We are therefore seeking to understand which tables are used to help us prioritise improvements. You are invited to please complete the online survey here, by 31st December 2023. This should take 5-10 minutes.

Question 11

11. Further information

Accepted Answer

11.1 Provisional data and revisions

The statistics in the latest quarter are provisional and revisions may be made when the next edition of this bulletin is published. If revisions are needed in subsequent quarters, these will be annotated in the tables.

11.2 Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

A supporting document providing further information on how the data is collected and processed, as well as information on the revisions policy and legislation relevant to civil justice.
The quality statement published with this guide sets out our policies for producing quality statistical outputs for the information we provide to maintain our users’ understanding and trust.
A set of overview tables (also available in accessible format) and CSV files, covering each section of this bulletin.
A set of tables providing statistics on the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, also available in accessible format.
A JR data visualisation tool (to provide a more granular view of the JR data by department and case type). This can be found here.
A Sankey tool which shows case progression of civil cases in the county courts is here.
Annual tables covering data on the Royal Courts of Justice and judge sitting days.

11.3 Rounding convention

Figures greater than 10,000 are rounded to the nearest 1,000, those between 1,000 and 10,000 are rounded to the nearest 100 and those between 100 to 1,000 are rounded to the nearest 10. Less than 100 are given as the actual number.

11.4 National Statistics status

National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.

All official statistics should comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They are awarded National Statistics status following an assessment by the Authority’s regulatory arm. The Authority considers whether the statistics meet the highest standards of Code compliance, including the value they add to public decisions and debate.

It is the Ministry of Justice’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected for National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

11.5 Future publications

Our statisticians regularly review the content of publications. Development of new and improved statistical outputs is usually dependent on reallocating existing resources. As part of our continual review and prioritisation, we welcome user feedback on existing outputs including content, breadth, frequency and methodology. Please send any comments you have on this publication including suggestions for further developments or reductions in content.

11.6 Contacts

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) press office:

Sarah Cottrill - email: sarah.cottrill@justice.gov.uk

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to the Data and Evidence as a Service division of the Ministry of Justice:

Laura Jones - email: cajs@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 7 September 2023