Civil justice statistics quarterly: October to December 2017
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

Civil Justice Statistics. The bulletin presents the latest statistics on the type and volume of civil, judicial review and privacy injunction cases that are received and processed through the justice system of England and Wales.

Published 1 March 2017 
Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly, 
England and Wales, October to 
December 2017 (provisional)  
Main points 
In October to December 2017, the number of County Court claims and judgments made 
decreased, following an increasing trend seen since April to June 2015. However, other 
stages of county court activity (defences, allocations and trials) have continued to increase, 
albeit at a slower rate.   
Decrease in County 
court claims driven by 
specified money claims  
In October to December 2017, County Court claims 
decreased by 12% to 414,000, reversing the increasing 
trend seen previously. Of these, 307,000 were specified 
money claims (down 17% on the same period in 2016). 
Unspecified money 
claims were up 9% to 
37,000   
Unspecified money claims have increased for both 
Personal Injury (up 9% to 35,000) and other unspecified 
money claims (up 11% to 2,000)  
Claims defended and 
claims to trial continue 
to increase  
There were 73,000 claims defended and 14,000 claims 
that had gone to trial in October to December 2017, up 
3% and 1% respectively. 
Average time taken 
from claim to hearing 
has increased 
Average time taken for small claims to trial took 32.2 
weeks and for multi/fast track claims 58.3 weeks, up 1.8 
and 5.4 weeks on the same period in 2016 respectively. 
However, average time taken continues to be in line with 
range seen since 2011. 
Judgments made down 
8%, compared to same 
quarter in 2016  
Despite the fall in judgments to 265,000 in October to 
December 2017, the proportion that were default 
judgments increased by 1 percentage point to 87%. 
22,200 enforcement 
orders and 80,000 
warrants were issued  
Enforcement orders and warrants issued increased 4% 
and 8% respectively on October to December 2016, with 
increases seen driven by enforcement charging orders 
and warrants of control (both up 9%). 
In 2017 there were 2% 
fewer Judicial Review 
applications than in 
2016  
4,200 Judicial Review applications were received in 
2017 and 2,800 of these cases reached the permission 
stage (of which 513 (18%) were found to be ‘Totally 
Without Merit’). 
 
This publication gives civil county court statistics for the latest quarter (October to December 
2017), compared to the same quarter the previous year. The judicial review figures cover 
the period January to December 2017 and Privacy Injunctions the period July to December 
2017. For more details, please see the supporting document.  

2 
 
1. Claims summary 
County court claims are down 12% on the same quarter of 2016, with the decrease 
driven by specified money claims 
 
There were 414,000 County Court claims lodged in October to December 2017. Of 
these, 344,000 were money claims (down 15% from October to December 2016). 
Non-money claims at 70,000, no change on the same quarter last year 
 
Return of goods increased by 8% to 2,200 when compared to October to December 
2016, whereas ‘Other non-money’ and Mortgage and Landlord Possession claims 
have remained level over this period (at 32,000 and 36,000 claims respectively). 
Figure 1: County Court Claims by type, Q2 (April to June) 2009 to Q4 (October to 
December) 2017 (source: table 1.2)  
 
County Court claims had been generally increasing since a low of 328,000 in April to June 
2012, reaching a peak of 565,000 claims in April to June 2017. This increase was driven by 
a rise in money claims, which make up the majority of claims received. However, in this 
most recent quarter, claims have decreased by 12% to 414,000, compared to the same 
period in 2016. Of these, 344,000 were money claims (down 15% from October to 
December 2016). 
Non-money claims had been generally decreasing since the peak of 89,000 claims in July to 
September 2013, to a low of 70,000 in October to December 2016. In October to December 
2017, non-money claims have remained level with the same period in 2016.   
Within non-money claims, return of goods have been generally increasing quarter on 
quarter since July to September 2015. In October to December 2017, these types of claim 
increased by 8% to 2,200, when compared to the same period in 2016. Other non-money 
had also generally been increasing since a low of 26,000 in April to June 2014, to a high of 
35,000 in January to March 2017. However in the most recent quarter, they have remained 
at similar levels seen in the same period of 2016, at 32,000 claims. 
The overall trend in Mortgage and Landlord Possession claims has been decreasing since a 
peak of 60,000 in January to March 2014. This claim type saw no significant change in 
October to December 2017, when compared to the same quarter last year, remaining at 
36,000 claims.  
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Money Claims
Non Money Claims
Total Claims
Introduction 
of Debt PAP 

3 
 
2. Money Claims 
The majority (84%) of specified money claims are processed and issued at the County 
Court Business Centre (CCBC). There were 259,000 such claims at the CCBC in October to 
December 2017 (down 21% on the same quarter in the previous year).  
Although specified money claims had been on an increasing trend from a low in April to 
June 2012 (210,000 claims), to 445,000 in July to September 2017 (445,000), the most 
recent quarter has seen a fall, to 307,000 claims in October to December 2017.  
The decrease in specified money claims has been driven by the implementation of the Pre-
Action Protocol for Debt Claims1, which was introduced in October 2017. The main aim of 
the protocol is to encourage early engagement between parties to resolve disputes without 
needing to start court proceedings. 
The decrease can be seen across monetary claims of the value up to and including 
£15,000, with the greatest decreases in the less than £1,000 claims (down by 17%) – these 
make up two thirds (67%) of the total specified money claims in the most recent quarter. 
Higher value claims (>£15,000) increased over this period by 8% to 4,600 claims as shown 
in Figure 2.  
Figure 2: Specified money claims by monetary value, Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2009 to Q4 (Oct-
Dec) 2017 (source: civil workload CSV)  
 
                                               
1 http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/pdf/protocols/pre-action-protocol-for-debt-claims.pdf 
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Up to £500
Over £500 to £1,000
Over £1,000 to £5,000
Over £5,000 to £15,000
Over £15,000
Specified money claims fell by 17% to 307,000 claims in October to December 2017, 
driving the decrease seen in money claims.  
 
Specified money claims up to (and including) £15,000 decreased over this period- 
these account for almost all (98%) specified money claims. 
Unspecified claims have increased by 9% to 37,000 when compared to the same 
quarter in 2016  
 
Unspecified money claims have increased for both Personal Injury (up 9% to 
35,000) and other unspecified money claims (up 11% to 2,000) 
Introduction of 
Secure Data 
Transfer system 
by HMCTS 
Introduction 
of Debt PAP 

4 
 
Unspecified money claims have fluctuated between 33,000 and 40,000 claims each quarter 
over the last four years (since October to December 2013). In the most recent quarter, they 
increased by 9% when compared to October to December 2016, to 37,000.  Within this 
claim group, personal injury increased 9% to 35,000 and other unspecified money claims up 
11% to 2,000. 
 
Allocations 
In October to December 2017, 41,000 money claims were allocated to track, 5% more than 
the same period in 2016. Of these allocations; 
• 
22,000 were allocated to small claims, an increase of 10% on the same quarter in 
2016, accounting for 53% of all allocations; 
• 
16,000 were allocated to fast track, an increase of 3% on the same quarter in 2016, 
accounting for 40% of all allocations; 
• 
3,000 were allocated to multi-track, a decrease of 11% on the same quarter of 2016, 
accounting for 7% of all allocations. 

5 
 
3. Defences (including legal representation) and Trials 
The number of claims defended increased by 3% to 73,000   
 
Due to a data quality issue, Q4 2017 representation figures are not reported for case 
type breakdowns of claims defended.  
The number of trials and average time taken from claim to trial have increased 
 
Average time taken for small claims has increased to 32.2 weeks and for multi and 
fast track claims to 58.3 weeks. 
Claims defended 
The number of claims defended increased by 3% to 73,000 cases. Of these, over half (56%) 
were specified money claim defences, and 38% were unspecified money claim defences. 
The proportion of specified money claim defences has increased by three percentage points 
since the same quarter of 2016, whereas unspecified money claim and mortgage and 
landlord possession defences both decreased by one percentage point. 
Due to a data quality issue, representation figures by claim type for October to December 
2017 are not reported in this bulletin. Investigations are underway to resolve this.   
Trials and Time Taken to Reach Trial  
Defended cases which are not settled or withdrawn generally result in a trial. In total, there 
were 14,000 trials in October to December 2017, up 1% on the same quarter in 2016. Of the 
claims that went to trial, 10,000 (73%) were small claims trials (up 8% on the same quarter 
in 2016) and 4,000 were fast and multi-track trials (down 13% on the same quarter in 2016).  
Figure 3: Average number of weeks from claim being issued to initial hearing date, Q1 
(Jan-Mar) 2009 to Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2017 (Source: table 1.5) 
 
There was an average of 32.2 weeks between a small claim being issued and the claim 
going to trial in October to December 2017, just less than two weeks longer than the same 
period in the previous year. For multi/fast track claims the average was 58.3 weeks over the 
same period, just over five weeks longer than in October to December 2016, although the 
average time taken remains in line with the long-term range (52-59 weeks).  

6 
 
4. Judgments 
Judgments decreased by 8%, compared to same quarter in 2016 
 
There were 265,000 judgments made in October to December 2017, of which 231,000 
were default judgments. Despite the decrease in overall judgments, the proportion of 
default judgments increased by 1 percentage point to 87% against the same quarter of 
2016. 
 
Figure 4: All claims, judgments and default judgments, Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2009 to Q4 (Oct-
Dec) 2017 (Source: table 1.2 and 1.4) 
  
There were 265,000 judgments made in October to December 2017, a decrease of 8% 
against the same quarter of the previous year. Of these, 87% were default judgments, up 1 
percentage point against the same quarter of the previous year, despite a fall in volume to 
231,000 judgments. The proportion of default judgments increased to 87% in the first 
quarter of 2017, after remaining stable at around 85% between 2014 and 2016, and has 
remained at this level since. There has been a gradual increase in the proportion of default 
judgments since 2009, from 80% to 87%. 
The second largest type of judgment were ‘admissions’, of which there were 20,000 in 
October to December 2017, down 20% on the same quarter in 2016. Admission judgments 
accounted for 7% of all judgments, down from 9% in October to December 2016. 
 
 
 
 
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
Q1Q2 Q3Q4 Q1Q2 Q3Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1Q2 Q3 Q4Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2Q3 Q4 Q1Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Total claims
Total judgments
Default judgments
Introduction of 
Secure Data 
Transfer system 
by HMCTS
Introduction 
of Debt PAP

7 
 
5. Enforcements and Warrants 
Enforcement applications down 6% and enforcement orders up 4% compared to same 
quarter in 2016 
 
There were 27,800 applications and 22,200 orders made in October to December 
2017. The decline in applications were driven by charging order applications (down 
27%) and increase in orders charging orders made (up 9%).  
Warrants issued increased by 8%, driven by warrants of control 
 
In October to December 2017, 80,000 warrants were issued, three quarters (75%) of 
which were warrants of control, which have increased 9% on the same quarter in 2016 
 
Figure 5: Warrants and enforcements issued – Q1 (Jan–Mar) 2009 to Q4 (Oct-Dec) 2017 
(Source: table 1.4)  
Warrants 
There were 80,000 warrants issued in October to December 2017, an increase of 8% on the 
same quarter in 2016. Over the longer term, issued warrants fell between 2000 and April to 
June 2014, to 48,000. They have since gradually increased, driven by warrants of execution 
(which made up 75% of all warrants in October to December 2017).  
This increase is likely due to the introduction of the Secure Data Transfer system in July 
2014 by HMCTS for the issue of Warrants of Control.  This enables bulk customers to not 
only issue money claims digitally but also the subsequent enforcement by a warrant; 
speeding up and simplifying the process, which has led to a customer preference for 
warrants over other types of enforcement.   
Enforcements  
There were 28,000 enforcement-related order applications (which include attachment of 
earnings orders, charging orders, third party orders, and orders to obtain information) in 
October to December 2017 and 22,000 actual enforcement related orders made (down 6% 
and up 4% respectively, compared to the same period last year). The fall in applications 
was driven by a decrease in charging order applications (down 27%), whereas the increase 
in orders was driven by an increase in charging orders made (up 9%). There is a delay 
between orders being applied for and subsequently being issued – this explains the different 
trends in applications and orders made in the twelve months to October to December 2017. 
Over the longer term, there has been a decreasing trend in enforcement related applications 
received and orders made since 2008, possibly due to claimants’ preference for using 
warrants instead to retrieve money, property or goods (as warrants increased over this 
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
Q1Q2 Q3Q4 Q1Q2 Q3Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1Q2 Q3 Q4Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Total enforcement-related orders orders made
Total warrants issued
Introduction of 
Secure Data 
Transfer system 
by HMCTS 
Introduction 
of Debt PAP 

8 
 
same period). Figure 5 highlights the increase in warrants issued since Q3 2014 and the 
decrease in enforcements issued across the time series. 

9 
 
6. Judicial Reviews2 
There were 4,200 judicial review applications received in 2017, down 2% on 2016 
 
Of the applications received in 2017, 68% have already closed, and 513 were found to be 
‘Totally Without Merit’ (18% of cases that reached the permission stage in 2017).  
Figure 6: Annual Judicial Review Application, by type calendar year 2000-2017 (Source: 
table 2.1) 
 
  
Of the 4,200 judicial review applications received in 2017, 2,300 were Civil Immigration and 
Asylum applications, 1,700 were civil (other) and 217 were criminal, down 9%, up 8% and 
down 1% respectively on 2016. Fifty of the civil Immigration and Asylum cases have since 
been transferred to the UTIAC. 
In 2017, 68% of the applications made have progressed and are now closed.  Of the total 
applications, 2,800 reached the permission stage, and of these:  
• 
18% (513) were found to be totally without merit (TWM), two percentage points 
less than 2016 (at 20%).  
• 
522 cases were granted permission to proceed and 2,300 were refused at the 
permission stage. However, 119 cases refused at permission stage went on to 
be granted permission at the renewal stage. 
• 
Of the 2017 cases, 641 have so far been assessed to be eligible for a final 
hearing and of these, 143 have since been heard. 
• 
For those cases lodged in 2017, the mean time from a case being lodged to the 
permission decision was 62 days, down from 78 days and 72 days in 2016 and 
2015, respectively. However, the mean time for 2017 may increase with future 
publications, as more of the 2017 cases work their way through the later stages 
of the Judicial Review process. 
 
 
                                               
2 The judicial review data are Official Statistics 
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Civil - Immigration and Asylum
Civil - other
Criminal
Unknown
Jurisdiction for most 
Immigration and 
Asylum JRs moved to 
the Upper Tribunal 
(Immigration and 
Asylum Chamber), 
causing the drop in the 
Administrative Court 
JR applications. 

10 
 
7. Privacy Injunctions3 
 
In the last six months of 2017, there were eight proceedings where the High Court 
considered an application for a new interim privacy injunction, one proceeding was 
considered at the High Court on whether to continue or amend an interim injunction and no 
proceedings were considered to issue a final permanent injunction. 
 
There was one proceeding also considered at the High Court on whether to continue or 
amend an undertaking and one proceeding considered a final undertaking over the same 
period. An undertaking is different from an injunction, in that it is a promise given by the 
defendants, rather than an injunction which is an order of the court. 
 
Figure 7: Revised number of privacy injunction proceedings, by type of 
proceeding, from Aug-Dec 2011 to Jul-Dec 2017 (Source: tables 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3) 
 
New interim privacy injunctions (Table 3.1)  
Of the eight proceedings at the High Court that took place in July to December 2017, all 
eight were granted. In the previous 6 months (January to June 2017) six new interim privacy 
injunction proceedings took place. Two of these were granted, three refused, and for one, 
an undertaking was given.  
Continuation of existing interim injunctions (Table 3.2)  
The continuation of an existing interim injunction proceeding that took place in July to 
December 2017 was granted/varied. The continuation of an undertaking was also accepted. 
In January to June 2017, the existing interim junction was also granted/varied. 
Final privacy injunctions (Table 3.3) 
The final undertaking dealt with in July to December 2017 was accepted, as were the two 
final privacy injunction proceedings in the first six months of 2017. 
 
                                               
3   The privacy injunction data are Official Statistics  
0
5
10
15
20
25
Aug - Dec
2011
Jan - Jun
2012
Jul - Dec
2012
Jan - Jun
2013
Jul - Dec
2013
Jan - Jun
2014
Jul - Dec
2014
Jan - Jun
2015
Jul - Dec
2015
Jan - Jun
2016
Jul - Dec
2016
Jan - Jun
2017
Jul - Dec
2017
Number of Privacy Injunction proceedings
Final undertakings dealt with
Final privacy injunctions dealt with
Undertakings where continuation/variation deal with
Injunctions where continuation/variation dealt with
Applications for new interim privacy injunctions
Undertakings were recorded for the first time alongside privacy injunctions from 
January 2017.  

11 
 
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. 
• 
A set of overview tables and CSV files, covering each section of this bulletin. 
Rounding convention 
Figures greater than 10,000 are rounded to the nearest 1,000 and those between 1,000 and 
10,000 are rounded to the nearest 100. 
Omission of Figures 
Figures for claims defended in October to December 2017 by case type and details of legal 
representation (table 1.6) have been excluded from this quarterly edition, due to data quality 
issues. The figures are currently being investigated.  
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. 
 
Contact 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) press office: 
Andrew Hamilton - email: xxx@xxx.xx  
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to the Justice Statistics Analytical 
Services division of the Ministry of Justice: 
Bridgette Miles - email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
Next update: 7 June 2018 
 
 
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