National statistics

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly: July to September 2023

Published 7 December 2023

Applies to England and Wales

1. Main Points

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Increase in County Court claims, driven mostly by money claims	Compared to the same period in 2022, County Court claims from July to September 2023 were up 15% to 448,000. Of these, 369,000 (82%) were money claims (up 16%). Compared to the same quarter in 2019 (pre-covid baseline), County Court claims were down 19%.
Damages claims were up 10% at 30,000	The increase in damages claims was driven by a rise in other damages claims (up 109% to 12,000) compared to the same quarter in 2022, offsetting a 17% fall in personal injury claims (to 18,000). Compared to the same quarter in 2019 (pre-covid baseline), total damages claims were down 7%.
The number of claims defended increased compared to 2022 while the number of trials decreased	There were 66,000 claims defended (up 3%) and 13,000 claims that went to trial in July to September 2023 (down 7%) compared to the same quarter in 2022. Compared to the pre-covid baseline, claims defended were down 16% and claims that went to trial were down 23%.
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 55.6 weeks and 76.4 weeks, 3.5 weeks longer and less than a week longer than the same period in 2022 respectively. Compared to 2019, these measures are 17.5 weeks longer for small claims and 17.1 weeks longer for multi/fast track claims.
Judgments were up 16% and default judgments were up 19%	Judgments were up 16% (to 262,000) in July to September 2023, compared to the same period in 2022; with 92% of these being default judgments. Compared to the same period in 2019, judgments were down 23%, 89% of which were default judgments.
Enforcement applications rose to 13,000 and orders fell to 8,500	Enforcement applications were up 1%, while enforcement orders were down 3% when compared to the same quarter in 2022. Compared to 2019 (pre-covid baseline), volumes of enforcement applications were down 50% and enforcement orders were down 49%.
Warrants issued increased to 84,000	Warrants issued were up 10% when compared to the same quarter in 2022, and down 24% compared to 2019 (pre-covid baseline).
670 judicial review applications	There were 670 applications for Judicial Reviews in Q3 2023, up 5% on Q3 2022. Of the 100 cases in 2023 Q3 that have so far reached the permission stage, 12 (12%) were found to be ‘totally without merit’.

This publication gives civil county court and judicial review statistics for the latest quarter (July to September 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. 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

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2. Statistician’s comment

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Total number of claims issued continues to increase this quarter and is currently at 80% of the pre-covid baseline. This increase was mainly driven by increases in money claims and other damages claims. The increase within damages claims would have been much higher but was offset by a 17% fall in personal injury claims which made up 60% of the total damages claim. Other damages claims – which made up the remaining damages claims more than doubled from 5,700 to 12,000. The number of claims is at its highest since the pandemic, but this has not translated into an increased number of claims gone to trial.

Average time between issue and trial for small claims and fast/multi track claims have risen by 3.5 and 0.5 weeks respectively; the average time for small claims is at the highest it’s been since our series which started in 2009. HMCTS has introduced efficiencies including digitising court processes through the Reform programme, increasing capacity through judicial recruitment drives and reducing demand through the increased use of mediation. These actions, which are being monitored closely, are expected to improve timeliness measures over the longer term.

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3. Claims Summary

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County court claims were up 15% on the same quarter of 2022, driven mostly by money claims.

There were 448,000 County Court claims lodged in July to September 2023. Of these, 399,000 (89%) were money and damages claims (up 16% from July to September 2022).

Non-money claim volumes were at 49,000, up 7% when compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Mortgage and landlord possession claims were up 18% over the same period to 29,000, ‘other non-money claims’ were down 2% to 17,000 and claims for return of goods were down 21% to 2,500.

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Figure 1: County Court claims by type, Q3 (July to September) 2018 to Q3 (July to September) 2023 (Source: table 1.2)

In the most recent quarter, total claims were up 15% compared to the same period in 2022 (from 390,000 to 448,000). Of these, 399,000 were money and damages claims, up 16% from July to September 2022 (from 345,000). Money and damages claims made up 89% of all claims in July to September 2023, up 1pp on its share in July to September 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 this quarter this is still down 19% 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 7% (from 46,000 to 49,000) compared to the same period in 2022, driven by increases in Mortgage and Landlord Possession claims. However, these remain down 29% 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 2% (from 18,000 to 17,000) 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 29,000 claims in July to September 2023, up 18% compared to the same quarter of 2022 (25,000 claims). However, this remains down 18% 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 to 700 in Q2 2020, there has been recovery in these figures and volumes have remained relatively stable since Q1 2022 around pre-covid levels. This quarter, volumes are down 21% (from 3,200 to 2,500) compared to the same period in 2022.

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4. Money Claims

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Money claims were up 16% (to 369,000 claims) in July to September 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Money claims valued up to £500 were up 11% over this period to 158,000, driving the overall trend in money claims.

Damages claims were up 10% at 30,000 driven by an increase in other damages claims (up 109%) to 12,000 compared to the same quarter in 2022, offsetting a decrease in personal injury claims (down 17%) to 18,000 over the same period.

Personal injury claims have continued a generally downwards trend since Q4 2020. This is likely due to a combination of factors including the introduction of whiplash reforms (with some cases being processed via the online portal rather than going to court).

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Figure 2: Money claims by monetary value, Q3 (July to September) 2018 to Q3 (July to September) 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 (July to September 2023), there were 369,000 claims, up 16% on the same quarter in 2022 (317,000 claims).

This quarter, the majority (81%) of money claims were processed and issued at the County Court Business Centre (CCBC). There were 298,000 such claims at the CCBC in July to September 2023 (up 12% 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 number of money claims in every category rose in Q3 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022, with money claims valued under £500 and between £1,000 and £3,000 increasing the most. These were up 11% and 20%, to 158,000 and 87,000 claims respectively in the period July to September 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022. Claims valued under £500 accounted for 43% of total money claims in the most recent quarter. This is close to historical levels with this category making up 45% of total money claims in July to September 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.

Other than in Q2 2020, damages claims – made up of personal injury and other damages claims, have fluctuated between 22,000 and 38,000 claims each quarter over the last five years (since July to September 2018). However, in the current quarter volumes were up 10% to 30,000 in July to September 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. This increase would have been much higher had personal injury claims (which made up 60% of the total) not fallen by 17% from 21,000 to 18,000. Other damages claims – which made up 40% of total damages volumes can be prone to volatility and this quarter was up 109% from 5,700 to 12,000, following decreases since Q1 2022. This increase is likely to be due to an increase in claims received ahead of the introduction of the Intermediate Track on the 1 October 2023. Other damages claims accounted for 40% of all damages claims in the most recent quarter, up 19pp compared to July to September 2022, when they accounted for 21% of all damages claims. Personal injury claims were down 17% compared to the same period in 2022, continuing a generally decreasing trend since Q4 2020.

4.1 Allocations (table 1.3)

In July to September 2023, 25,000 money and damages claims were allocated to track, down 36% (from 39,000) compared to the same period in 2022. The decline in allocations follows the closure of the County Court Money Claims Centre in Salford and the transfer of work to the Civil National Business Centre. The volumes of claims allocated to track are expected to increase in the coming months as the Civil National Business Centre recovers performance to previous levels. Compared to July to September 2022, of these allocations:

• 18,000 were allocated to small claims, down 34% on July to September 2022. This accounts for 70% of all allocations (compared to 68% of all allocations in the same quarter of 2022);
• 6,000 were allocated to fast track, down 41% on July to September 2022. This accounts for 24% of all allocations (compared to 26% of all allocations in the same quarter of 2022);
• 1,500 were allocated to multi-track, down 40% on July to September 2022. This accounts for 6% of all allocations (compared to 6% of all allocations in the same quarter of 2022);

In October 2023, the extension of Fixed Recoverable Costs saw the introduction of a new Intermediate track which sits between the Fast and Multi track, the Intermediate track will be the normal track for claims valued between £25,000 and £100,000, with some exemptions^{[footnote 2]}. The track applies to both money and damages claims and introduces fixed recoverable costs to claims in this track which would previously have been allocated to the multi-track. Cases from the new intermediate track will be included in the publication from next quarter, October to December 2023, as they appear in the caseload.

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5. Defences (including legal representation) and Trials

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The number of claims defended was up 3% to 66,000 compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Of those claims defended, 47% had legal representation for both claimant and defendant, 32% had representation for claimant only, and 4% for defendant only.

The number of trials was down 7% to 13,000 compared to the same quarter in 2022.

Average time taken for small claims was 55.6 weeks (3.5 weeks longer compared to the same quarter in 2022) and for multi and fast track claims it was 76.4 weeks (less than a week longer than July to September 2022).

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Of those claims defended in July to September 2023, 47% had legal representation for both claimant and defendant, 32% had representation for claimant only, and 4% for defendant only. Almost all (92%) damages claim defences had legal representation for both the defendant and claimant, compared with 30% of money claim defences.

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

The total number of claims defended was up 3% in July to September 2023 compared to the same quarter in 2022, from 63,000 to 66,000 cases. The number of claims defended has risen after a brief decline last quarter following the closure of the County Court Money Claims Centre in Salford and the transfer of work to the Civil National Business Centre which created a temporary backlog. Mortgage and landlord possession defences were up 26% from 3,800 to 4,800 compared to July to September 2022. On the contrary, a decrease was seen in defended damages claims (down 25% from 25,000 to 19,000).

5.1 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 13,000 trials in July to September 2023, down 7% compared to the same period in 2022. Of the claims that went to trial, 9,900 (75%) were small claims trials (down 10% compared to the same quarter in 2022) and 3,300 (25%) were fast and multi-track trials (up 4% from the same quarter of 2022).

Figure 4: Average number of weeks from claim being issued to initial hearing date, Q3 (July to September) 2018 to Q3 (July to September) 2023 (Source: table 1.5)

In July to September 2023, it took an average of 55.6 weeks between a small claim being issued and the claim going to trial, 3.5 weeks longer than the same period in 2022, and the highest in our series which started in 2009. Timeliness for Small Claims remains a challenge with this metric measuring only those cases concluding at trial (rather than through settlement following mediation for example). There is regional variation within this metric with longer waiting times experienced in London and the South East.

Mediation is being fully integrated as a key step in the court process for small civil claims valued up to £10,000. This, when successful, results 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.

The HMCTS Reform programme is modernising and digitising the systems to allow the courts to work more efficiently and cases are expected to progress from issue to directions more quickly.

For multi/fast track claims, it took on average 76.4 weeks to reach a trial, less than a week longer than in July to September 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.

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6. Judgments

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Judgments were up 16% compared to same quarter in 2022.

There were 262,000 judgments made in July to September 2023, compared to 226,000 in the same quarter of 2022. Of these judgments, 241,000 (92%) were default judgments.

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Figure 5: All claims, judgments and default judgments, Q3 (July to September) 2018 to Q3 (July to September) 2023 (Source: tables 1.2 and 1.4)

There were 262,000 judgments made in July to September 2023, up 16% compared to the same quarter of 2022. Of these, 92% were default judgments, up 2pp on its share in July to September 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 11,000 in July to September 2023, down 6% on the same quarter in 2022 (from 12,000). ‘Admission’ judgments accounted for 4% of all judgments.

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7. Warrants and Enforcements

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Warrants issued were up 10% when compared to same quarter in 2022.

In July to September 2023, 84,000 warrants were issued, up 10% from 76,000 in the same quarter of 2022. Of these, 71,000 (85%) were warrants of control, up 10% compared to the same period in 2022.

Enforcement applications were up 1% and enforcement orders were down 3% when compared to July to September 2022

This rise in enforcement applications was mostly driven by an increase in Charging applications which were up 8% (from 4,700 to 5,100), whilst the fall in enforcement orders was driven by a decline in Attachment of earnings (AoE) orders, down 21% (from 3,200 to 2,600).

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Figure 6: Warrants and enforcements issued – Q3 (July to September) 2018 to Q3 (July to September) 2023 (Source: tables 1.7 and 1.8)

7.1 Warrants (table 1.7)

In the latest quarter (July to September 2023) there were 84,000 warrants issued, up 10% (from 76,000) on the same quarter in 2022. Warrants of control accounted for 85% of total warrants, and were up 10%, from 65,000 to 71,000, compared to the same period in 2022.

There were 12,000 possession warrants issued in July to September 2023, up 9% (from 11,000) 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.

7.2 Enforcements (table 1.8)

In July to September 2023, there were 13,000 enforcement-related order applications (which include attachment of earnings orders, charging orders, third party debt orders, administration orders, and orders to obtain information), up 1% compared to the same quarter of 2022. All application types increased, except attachment of earnings (AoE) applications. Third party debt applications increased by 24%, charging order applications up 8% and administration orders applications up 33%. AoE applications were down 5%.

There were 8,500 enforcement-related orders made in July to September 2023, down 3% compared to the same quarter of 2022. AoE orders fell by 21% (from 3,200 to 2,600), driving the overall fall in volumes. Charging orders rose by 5% (from 4,100 to 4,300). 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.

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8. Judicial reviews^{[footnote 4]}

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There were 670 judicial review applications received in Q3 2023, up 5% on Q3 2022 (640) and down 21% on Q3 2019 (from 840) as a pre-Covid19 baseline.

Of the 670 applications received in Q3 2023, 17% have already closed, and 12 were found to be ‘Totally Without Merit’ (12% of cases that reached the permission stage).

Judicial review cases moved to a new management system, CE-file, from September 2023. Only cases open from 2020 have been moved to the new system, and these cases may have small revisions when compared to previous publications. Cases prior to 2020 will no longer be revised as these have not been moved to CE-file; over 99% of these cases have already been closed.

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Figure 7: Judicial Review Applications, by type; Q3 2016 to Q3 2023 (Source: JR CSV)

Quarterly JR Receipts – July to September 2023:

Of the 670 applications received in Q3 2023, 220 were civil immigration and asylum applications, 410 were civil (other), and 30 were criminal, up 2%, up 10% and down 29% respectively on Q3 2022. 1 of the civil immigration and asylum cases have since been transferred to the UTIAC.

Of the applications that were made in Q3 2023, 17% are now closed. Of the total applications, 100 reached the permission stage in Q3 2023, and of these:

• 12% (12) were found to be totally without merit.
• 37 cases have already been granted permission or granted permission in part to proceed and 57 were refused at the permission stage. None of the cases refused at permission stage went on to be granted permission at the renewal stage.
• 37 cases were assessed to be eligible for a final hearing and of these, 6 have since been heard.
• the mean time from a case being lodged to the permission decision was 40 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.

8.1 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 Q3 2023 are:

• Home Office had the largest number of JR applications lodged against them, with 220 applications. Of these, 11 were granted permission or granted permission in part to proceed to final hearing (5% of applications) to date.
• The second largest recipient of JR cases was the Local Authorities, with 210 cases received, of which to date 21 were granted permission or granted permission in part to proceed to final hearing (10% of applications).
• The third largest recipient was the Ministry of Justice, having 120 applications lodged against it. Of these, 4 were granted permission or granted permission in part to proceed to final hearing (3% 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.

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9. Further information

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9.1 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.

9.2 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 Judicial Review 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.
• A Civil data visualisation tool to provide a more granular and interactive view of cases through the civil claims system. This can be found here.

9.3 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.

9.4 National Statistics status

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

Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in January 2019. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

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.

9.5 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.

9.6 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 Courts and People division of the Ministry of Justice:

Matteo Chiesa - email: cajs@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 7 March 2024

1. Following the alignment of the fees for online and paper civil money and possession claims in May 2021, figure 2 shows all data with the updated claim brackets for comparison, a further breakdown of these brackets is available within the CSV. The CSV shows updated claim brackets from 2021. ↩

2. PART 28 - THE FAST TRACK AND THE INTERMEDIATE TRACK - Civil Procedure Rules (justice.gov.uk) ↩

3. Judgment by admission is where the defendant admits the truth of the claim made. ↩

4. The judicial review data are Official Statistics ↩