Civil justice statistics quarterly: July to September 2016
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.

Civil Justice Statistics 
Quarterly, England and Wales, 
July to September 2016  
 
 
 
 
Ministry of Justice 
Statistics bulletin 
 
 
 
 
Published 1 December 2016 
 
 
 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
2 
Contents  
Contents 
2 
Introduction 
3 
Changes in reporting  
4 
Users of the statistics 
4 
Next publication 
4 
Key Findings 
5 
1: Civil (excluding family) cases 
6 
2: Judicial Reviews at the Administrative Court 
14 
Annex A: Planned upcoming changes to publication 
20 
Annex B: List of Accompanying Tables and CSV 
21 
Annex C: Timeline of changes to civil procedures 
22 
Annex D: Explanatory notes 
23 
Further information 
24 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
3 
Introduction 
This statistical bulletin presents statistics on two key areas of civil and 
administrative justice: 
 County court civil (non-family) cases that took place in England and 
Wales in July to September 2016; and 
 Judicial review cases processed by the administrative court in 
England and Wales up to September 2016. 
The figures give an overview of the volume of cases dealt with by these 
courts over time and are used to monitor court workloads, assist in the 
development of policy and their subsequent monitoring and evaluation.  
Civil cases covered by this publication are those that do not involve family 
matters or failure to pay council tax. These cases are mainly dealt with by 
county courts and typically relate to debt, the repossession of property, 
personal injury, the return of goods and insolvency. Particularly important, 
complex or substantial cases are instead dealt with in the High Court.  
Judicial reviews (JRs) are a process by which individuals, businesses and 
other affected parties can challenge the lawfulness of decisions or actions of 
the executive, including those of ministers, local authorities, other public 
bodies and those exercising public functions. It is a largely judge-developed 
procedure and can be characterised as the rule of law in action, providing a 
key mechanism for individuals to hold the executive to account. It is, 
however, intended to operate quickly and proportionately. Certain 
protections are in principle provided against spurious claims: only those with 
sufficient interest are able to bring a case and they must first obtain 
permission for their case to be heard.  
 
 
Information about the systems and data included in this publication can be 
found in ‘A Guide to Civil Court and Administrative Justice Statistics’ 
which is published alongside this report.  
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/guide-to-civil-and-administrative-justice-
statistics 
 
There is also a separate glossary published alongside this which provides 
brief definitions for the terms used in this report. Information regarding the 
symbols and conventions used in the bulletin are given in the explanatory 
notes section. 
Previous editions of Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly can be found here: 
www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly 
 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
4 
Changes in reporting  
In this edition of Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly, we have added a column 
to table 1.4 (Judgments and outcomes in the county courts), to give the 
number of default judgments. This information was previously available in 
the publications accompanying workload csv file. 
Users of the statistics 
The main users of these statistics are ministers and officials in central 
government responsible for developing policy with regards to civil and 
administrative justice. Other users include lawyers and academics, other 
central government departments such as the Department for Communities 
and Local Government, and non-governmental bodies, including various 
voluntary organisations with an interest in civil and administrative justice.  
 
Next publication 
The next publication of Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly is scheduled to be 
published on 2 March 2017, covering the period October to December 
2016. This will also include the bi-annual privacy injunction chapter (for 
the period July to December 2016)  

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
5 
Key Findings 
Civil cases 
 In July to September 2016, courts dealt with around 494,000 claims and 
283,000 judgments were made, up 24% and 32% respectively on the 
same quarter in the previous year. Of the number of judgments made, 
242,000 (85%) were default.  
 The increases were driven by specified money claims being issued at 
the County Court Business Centre (CCBC). The CCBC had 102,000 
more claims (up 43%) compared with the same quarter last year, with 
just over half (54%) of this increase being for claim amounts of up to 
£500.   
 Non-money claims are at their lowest third-quarter level since quarterly 
records began (2000), at around 71,000.  This has been driven by a 
continued drop in mortgage and landlord possession claims, which 
stood at 38,900 in July to September 2016 (down 11% on the same 
quarter last year).    
 In July to September 2016, both the claimant and defendant had legal 
representation in 53% of all defences (down 7 percentage points on the 
same quarter last year); compared with 25% of defences where only the 
claimant had representation (an increase of 7 percentage points over 
the same period).  
 The shift in proportion is driven in part by a reduction in the overall 
number of unspecified money defences (down 9%) – this claim type has 
the highest proportion in the both claimant and respondent 
representation (97% of unspecified money defences); and by an 
increase in specified money defences (up 22% on the same quarter last 
year) - of which a higher proportion are for claimant only representation. 
 
Judicial reviews at the Administrative Court 
 
 In January to September 2016, there have been 3,300 applications for 
judicial review (JR), a 2% increase on the same period of 2015. 
 
 58% of the 2016 applications were for civil immigration and asylum JRs, 
36% were other civil cases and 5% were criminal.  
 
 Around 1,900 of these applications (58% of all cases lodged in 2016) 
reached the permission or oral renewal stage and of these 21% were 
found to be totally without merit. This is one percentage point higher than 
the proportion seen annually in 2015 (where 79% of all cases lodged 
reached the permission or oral renewal stage).  
 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
6 
1: Civil (excluding family) cases 
A civil claim against a person or a company (the defendant) starts when a 
person or company (the claimant) completes and submits a claim form to 
the county court. This can be done either in person or online (for money and 
possession claims only). A copy of the claim form along with a response 
pack is sent to (served on) the defendant who has 14 days to respond to the 
claim. For money claims, if the defendant disputes (defends) the claim (in 
full or part) and mediation fails, the case is allocated by a judge to one of 
three case-management tracks (small claims track (for claims with a value 
less that £10K), fast track or multi track). Allocated cases which are not 
settled or withdrawn generally result in a small claim hearing or trial. A 
judgment regarding the claim can be made at various stages of the process. 
There are various methods of enforcing a judgment through the county 
courts including warrants and charging orders. 
 
Number of claims issued and Judgments made 
In July to September 2016, a total of 494,148 claims were issued, a 24% 
increase on the same quarter last year (see Table 1.1 and Figure 1.1). This 
is the highest quarterly total since 2008, and is driven entirely by an 
increasing trend in specified money claims. Looking at the longer term 
annually, there was a general downward trend in the total number of claims 
between 2006 and 2012, which has since reversed (albeit with a slight 
decrease of 2% in 2015 compared to 2014).  Figures for the first three 
quarters of 2016 suggest a continuation of the increasing trend.  
In July to September 2016, 86% of all claims were money claims, an 
increase of five percentage points on the same quarter in 2015. Of these 
money claims, 91% (386,735) related to claims for specified amounts of 
money (two percentage points higher than the same quarter last year).  This 
represents a sharp increase in the number of specified money claims, up 
35% from the same quarter last year.  The vast majority of these claims 
(340,922, or 88%) were issued at the County Court Business Centre 
(CCBC) in Northampton, which has responsibility for issuing specified 
money claims filed via the internet.   
Claimants at the CCBC fall into two main categories: MCOL (Money Claim 
On Line) claimants and bulk issuers.  MCOL claimants are usually 
individuals filing a claim via the moneyclaim.gov.uk website. Bulk issuers 
are generally companies that issue a large number of claims each quarter, 
and this is the main driver of the observed increase in specified money 
claims. Of this increase in claims seen at the CCBC, just over half (55%) 
were for claims amounts of up to £500, 20% were for over £500 to £1,000 
and 23% for over £1,000 to £5,000 amounts.     
The remaining 9% (36,470) of money claims related to unspecified money 
claims, down three percentage points from the same quarter last year 
(Table 1.2). Unspecified money claims include personal injury, which make 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
7 
up the overwhelming majority of these claims. In July to September 2016, 
95% of unspecified money claims were for personal injury, the same level 
seen in July to September 2015. This proportion has been consistent since 
the second quarter of 2012, when the County Court Money Claims Centre 
(CCMCC) took over the processing of the money claims and more 
accurately recorded personal injury claims (Table 1.2). Personal injury 
claims were down 1% on the same quarter of 2015. 
In July to September 2016, there were 70,943 non-money claims, down 8% 
on the same quarter in 2015. This continues a general downward trend 
since 2009 which can be partially explained by the fall in mortgage and 
landlord possession claims; there were 38,900 such claims in the most 
recent quarter, an 11% decrease on the same quarter in 2015. This 
coincided with lower interest rates, a proactive approach from mortgage 
lenders in managing consumers in financial difficulties, and various 
interventions, such as introduction of the Mortgage Pre-Action Protocol1 that 
encouraged more pre-action contact between lender and borrower (Table 
1.2).  
There were 1,702 insolvency petitions2 (excluding those raised in the Royal 
Courts of Justice) in July to September 2016. This shows a 67% decrease 
on the same quarter last year, which has been driven by debtor petitions 
moving to an online system on 6 April 2016, and no longer being heard in 
court3.  
In July to September 2016, a total of 282,944 judgments were made, up 
32% on the same period last year and of which, 85% (241,612) were default 
judgements.  This is primarily driven by the increase seen in specified 
money claims.  
                                            
1 For more information on mortgage and landlord possession statistics trends and the 
Mortgage Pre-Action Protocol, see www.gov.uk/government/collections/mortgage-and-
landlord-possession-statistics 
2 Insolvency petitions relate to bankruptcy or companies “winding up” 
3 For numbers of debtor petitions and a more detailed breakdown of insolvency petitions in 
general, please see www.gov.uk/government/collections/insolvency-service-official-
statistics 
 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
8 
Figure 1.1: Civil claims and judgments, January 2009 to September 
2016 (quarterly)  
 
Number of defences, allocations, and hearings  
In July to September 2016, there were 71,148 defences made, 7% more 
than during the same quarter in 2015 (Figure 1.2). Looking at the longer 
term, there has been a general downward annual trend since the peak of 
just under 340,000 in 2007, with the 2014 figure being 264,701. Since 2014, 
the annual number of defences has remained stable, with 264,545 defences 
in 2015.   
For money claims, if the claim is defended, further information is usually 
provided by each of the parties, after which the case is allocated by a judge 
to one of three case-management tracks. The provisional number of 
allocations recorded in July to September 2016, were 35,271. Although this 
suggests a 9% decrease on the same period last year (Table 1.3), 
previously when the provisional allocation figures have been revised the 
following quarter, they have increased. For example, last quarter the 
provisional figure was 35,800 and has subsequently been revised to 39,300- 
this provisional figure should therefore be used with caution. Further work is 
being carried out to investigate the large changes that occur between 
provisional and revised figures.  
 
 
 
 
 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
9 
Of the allocations made: 
 Just under half (17,166, or 49%) were to the small claims track. This 
track is generally for cases with a claim value of up to £10,0004 which 
require less preparation by the parties involved than the more 
complex cases allocated to the fast or multi track. The trials are 
designed to be accessible to people who do not have representation 
by a solicitor or counsel, and are dealt with in about an hour.  
 43% (15,075) of claims were allocated to the fast track. This track is 
generally for cases with a claim value of between £10,000 and not 
more than £25,000, with issues not complex enough to merit more 
than a one day trial.  
 9% (3,030) of claims were allocated to the multi-track. This track is 
generally for cases with a claim value exceeding £25,000 with more 
complex issues. They generally last more than one day at trial.  
 
Defended cases which are not settled or withdrawn generally result in a trial 
(Table 1.5). In total, there were 12,675 trials (of all types) in July to 
September 2016, level with the same quarter in 2015.  
In July to September 2016, 8,563 small claims trials took place, a 5% 
decrease compared to the same quarter in 2015. On average, these trials 
occurred 31.1 weeks after the claim was originally made. This is similar to 
the average time taken in July to September 2015 (31.2 weeks). 
Fast and multi-track trials (of which there were 4,112 in July to September 
2016, an increase of 14% on July to September 2015) occurred on average 
54.5 weeks after the claim was originally made (Table 1.5), compared with 
53.2 weeks in the same quarter in 2015.    
 
 
                                            
4 On 1 April 2013 due to a policy change, the maximum claim value for cases allocated to 
the small claims track increased from £5,000 to £10,000.  

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
10
Figure 1.2: Number of civil defences, allocations and trials, January 
2009 to September 2016 (quarterly) 
 
Enforcement 
There are various methods of enforcing a judgment through the county 
courts. The most common method of enforcing a monetary judgment is the 
warrant of execution against a debtor’s goods. This is where, unless the 
amount owed is paid, items owned by the debtor can be recovered by a 
bailiff acting on behalf of the court and sold.  
Annually, the number of warrants issued has followed a decreasing trend 
since 2000, until 2014 when the trend reversed and the numbers increased.  
During July to September 2016, there were 72,572 warrants issued, 
representing a 21% increase on the same quarter last year (Table 1.4).   
Alternatively, various types of court orders can be obtained:  
 
Attachment of earnings orders enable payment through the debtor’s 
employer. 
 
Third party debt orders enable payment by freezing and then seizing 
money owed by a third party to the debtor. 
 
Charging orders obtain security for the payment against the debtor’s 
assets. This may be followed by an order for sale which forces the 
sale of these assets.  
 
In July to September 2016, 19,950 enforcement orders were made, a 
decrease of 27% compared to the same period last year. This figure has 
been generally falling since 2008.  
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Defences
Allocations
Hearings

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
11
 
Legal representation  
Figures on the legal representation of parties in civil (non-family) related 
court cases are shown in Table 1.6. This gives the number of claims 
defended during each quarter, by claim type (specified money claims, 
unspecified money claims, mortgage and landlord possession and other 
non-money claims) and according to whether the applicant(s), 
respondent(s), both, or neither had legal representation during the case.  
In July to September 2016, both the claimant and defendant had legal 
representation in 53% of defences, whilst neither the respondent nor the 
claimant had representation in 18% of defences (compared with 60% and 
18% respectively compared to the same quarter in 2015). Defences with 
either the claimant or defendant only represented were 25% and 3% of all 
defences respectively in this most recent quarter, compared to 18% and 4% 
respectively in the same period last year.  
Figure 1.3 shows the proportion of defences broken down by representation 
status in England and Wales. 
Figure 1.3: Proportion of civil defences and legal representation 
status, January 2013 to September 2016 (quarterly) 
 
Changes to legal aid came into effect as of April 2013, and removed legal 
aid eligibility for some civil cases. Initially, the proportion of defences with 
legal representation for both parties fell during 2013, from 60% in April to 
June 2013 to a low of 53% in the same quarter of 2014. This then recovered 
back to 60% in July to September 2015. Since then a downward trend can 
be seen, corresponding with an increase in the proportion of claimant only 
representation defences.   
 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2(r) Q3(p)
2013
2014
2015
2016
Both claimant and defendant
Claimant only
Defendant only
Neither claimant nor defendant

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
12
This shift in proportion is driven in part by a reduction in the overall number 
of unspecified money defences (down 9%) – this claim type has the highest 
proportion in the both claimant and respondent representation (97% of 
unspecified money defences); and by an increase in specified money 
defences (up 22% on the same quarter last year) - of which a higher 
proportion are for claimant only representation. 
Figure 1.4: Proportion of civil defences, by type of case and legal 
representation status, England and Wales, July to September 2016 
 
The proportion of legal representation for defences is dependent on the type 
of claim (Figure 1.4). For example, in almost all unspecified money claim 
defences (97%) both the respondent and claimant had legal representation. 
For the other types of defences, legal representation status was more 
evenly distributed, although mortgage and landlord possession defences 
were more likely to have no legal representation for either the respondent or 
the claimant.  
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA - formerly the Legal Services Commission) 
collects statistics on those applying for legal aid, and figures on the number 
of applications received and certificates granted by various civil categories. 
These are published in their quarterly statistical report which can be found 
here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics  
 
53%
97%
28%
11%
61%
25%
2%
40%
33%
24%
3%
1%
5%
5%
6%
18%
0%
27%
51%
9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
All defences
Unspecified money
claim
Specified money claim Mortgage and landlord
possession
Other non money
Both Claimant and defendant
Claimant only
Defendant only
Neither claimant or defendant

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
13
Civil proceedings in the Magistrates’ Courts 
Magistrates’ courts deal with criminal and some civil cases, and cases are 
dealt with either by justices of the peace, who are unqualified and who are 
paid only expenses, or by District Judges who receive some payment. 
Magistrates can deal with a limited number of civil cases such as arrears of 
income tax, national insurance contributions, council tax or payments of 
child maintenance.  
There were 15,786 completed civil proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court in 
July to September 2016, a 6% decrease on the same period last year 
(Table 1.2). It should be noted that a proceeding can either relate to a single 
case or multiple cases, so the numbers of cases completed is greater than 
the number of completed proceedings.  

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
14
2: Judicial Reviews at the Administrative Court 
Judicial reviews (JRs) are a process by which individuals, businesses and 
other affected parties can challenge the lawfulness of decisions or actions of 
the Executive, including those of ministers, local authorities, other public 
bodies and those exercising public functions. It is a largely judge-developed 
procedure and can be characterised as the rule of law in action, providing a 
key mechanism for individuals to hold the Executive to account.  
This chapter tracks the progress of JRs lodged at the Administrative Court 
between 1 January 2000 and 30 September 2016. The figures presented in 
this chapter exclude Judicial Reviews that are dealt with by the Upper 
Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber (UTIAC), unless otherwise 
stated; however they are publicly available in a separate publication5.   
As the information included in this chapter has been extracted from a live 
database, all figures are refreshed each quarter and therefore there are 
minor revisions between the information presented here and in previous 
publications. 
Information for all years is provided in the supporting tables and CSV that 
accompany this publication. Please note for later years, cases may not have 
progressed to the end of the process, so the progression and timeliness 
figures for these cases should be treated with caution, in particular for 
applications lodged during the year 2015 and also 2016 to date, where a 
larger proportion of cases will not have been concluded. 
For more information on the Judicial Review process, including how topics 
are allocated to Immigration/Asylum and Other, please see the A Guide to 
Civil and Administrative Justice Statistics6.   
Applications for permission to apply for Judicial Review  
During the first three quarters of 2016, there were 3,281 applications for 
judicial review, compared to 3,223 applications over the same period of 
2015. 
 
The overall annual trend (to 2013) in judicial review applications received 
had been steadily increasing, with the exception of a dip in 2004. In 2000, 
there were 4,238 applications for permission to apply for a JR and by 2013, 
this had risen to an annual intake of 15,594 (over a threefold increase) 
(Table 2.1). JR Civil (Immigration and Asylum) cases had been driving this 
increase, up from 2,151 in 2000 to 13,141 in 2013. However, in 2014 there 
was a trend change and a sharp decrease to 4,065 JR cases being lodged 
                                            
5 Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics Quarterly: 
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics 
6www.gov.uk/government/statistics/guide-to-civil-and-administrative-justice-statistics 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
15
(down 74%).  This was due to a change implemented7 in November 2013, in 
which the Upper Tribunal for Immigration and Asylum Chamber (UTIAC) 
took over responsibility for the majority of Civil Immigration and Asylum 
Judicial Review cases. The reduction in Immigration and Asylum JR cases 
has resulted in a subsequent increase in Immigration and Asylum tribunal 
cases. In 2014/15, there were 15,179 JR receipts at the UTIAC, giving a 
total number of JRs across the Administrative Court and UTIAC of around 
20,000. More detailed figures on the number of JRs taking place in the 
UTIAC are published in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Statistics 
Quarterly Publication. 
In January to September 2016, 1,913 cases (58% of all JRs) were Civil 
Immigration and Asylum cases and 26 cases have been subsequently 
transferred to the UTIAC. 
 
Figure 2.1: Annual Judicial Review Applications, by type8 calendar 
year 2000-2015 
 
JR civil (other) cases have remained stable at around 2,000 cases annually, 
from 2005 to 2014. In 2015 there were 1,748 civil (other) cases. JR criminal 
cases remained fairly stable from 2000 to 2011, fluctuating between 280-
370 cases each year. In 2012 it reached a peak of 384 cases and has since 
fallen to an all-time low of 261 cases in 2015. In January to September 
2016, there have been 173 new cases for JR criminal and 1,195 for JR 
(civil) other. 
 
 
                                            
7 www.justice.gov.uk/courts/rcj-rolls-building/administrative-court/applying-for-judicial-review 
8 This chart excludes a small number of cases that could not be allocated to a type. 
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
18,000
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
20112
2012
2013
2014
2015
Civil - Immigration and Asylum (I&A)
Civil - other
Criminal
Total
Total
Civil (I&A)
Civil - other
Criminal

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
16
Case progression (Table 2.2) 
Once a judicial review has been lodged, it then progresses through the 
process until it is concluded; the time this process will take will be different 
for each case. 
The three main stages of the Judicial Review process once a case has been 
lodged are:  
 Permission stage - where the Court’s permission is required for a JR 
claim to proceed. This can be in the form of an oral or paper hearing.  
 Oral renewal stage - In cases where the Court refuses permission to 
proceed on the papers (either in full or in part); this is where the 
claimant requests that the decision be reconsidered at a hearing. 
 Final hearing – Where permission is granted for a case to proceed at 
either the permission or oral renewal stage, this is the point where 
cases are heard and a judgment is made. 
Please note, case progression figures can be affected by the case mix, 
which has changed over time and thus any previously observed trends 
should be viewed with caution. As an example different case types can have 
different mean lengths of timeliness. Civil judicial reviews for immigration 
and asylum rose from 51% of all cases in 2000 to 84% of all cases in 2013, 
and stood at 57% in 2015 - this type of case takes longer to complete, 
therefore overall mean timeliness will increase the greater proportion of 
these cases within the case mix. 
Also, the case progression figures will change each quarter as time allows 
for more cases to progress through the system.  
Permission stage 
 In 2000, 85% of judicial reviews lodged reached the permission stage 
and 29% were granted permission to proceed. These proportions 
decreased gradually over time to an all-time low in 2013 of 54% JRs 
reaching permission stage and 9% being granted permission to proceed.  
 Since the transfer of immigration and asylum cases to the UTIAC (from 
November 2013) the proportion reaching the permission stage has 
increased, to 79% in 2014 and remained at this proportion in 2015. Those 
granted permission to proceed were 16% and 13% of cases lodged in 
2014 and 2015 respectively. 
 In January to September 2016, the proportion reaching the permission 
stage stood at 58%, with 9% being granted permission to proceed to 
date. 
Oral renewals 
 In 2000, 18% of all cases lodged were granted an oral renewal. This 
rose to 26% in 2001 and has fallen to 10% in 2015.  

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
17
 A fee to renew the claim for an oral renewal was introduced in April 2014 
– this may be a contributing factor to the continuing downward trend in 
the number of claims progressing to the oral renewal stage.  
 Not all claims in which permission to apply for judicial review is refused 
are eligible for renewal.  Where a claim is considered by a judge to be 
totally without merit, the application for permission cannot be renewed to 
an oral hearing.  Similarly, where permission to apply for judicial review 
is refused in a case brought to challenge a decision of the Upper 
Tribunal to refuse permission to appeal, the application for permission 
cannot be renewed to an oral hearing. 
 In terms of those granted an oral renewal in 2000, 4% of all cases 
lodged received an oral renewal and were granted permission to 
proceed. This proportion has remained essentially stable ever since, and 
has been at 3% every year from 2008 to 2015, with the exception of 
2013 (when the proportion was 2%). In January to September 2016, 203 
cases to date have reached the oral renewal stage, of which 55 (2%) 
have been granted permission to proceed.  
 
Final hearing  
 The proportion of cases eligible for a final hearing (granted permission to 
proceed at permission stage or oral renewal) has steadily reduced over 
time, from 33% in 2000 to 10% in 2013. The rate stood at 17% in 2015. 
To date in 2016, 11% of cases (359) have been eligible for final hearing. 
 The proportion of all cases lodged found in favour of the claimant at a 
final hearing has reduced from 12% in 2000 to a low of 1% in 2013. In 
2014 it stood at 4% and then decreased again to 3% in 2015. To date in 
2016, 48 cases to date have reached the final hearing phase, and 17 of 
these were found in favour of the claimant.   
Timeliness (figure 2.2 and table 2.3)  
Timeliness figures are based on the date the judicial review is lodged to the 
date of various stages of the process. It is not a measure of the time the 
Administrative Court takes to deal with a judicial review as it also includes 
time taken for parties to the JR to provide evidence and any adjournments 
or postponements requested. Caution must be taken when interpreting the 
most recent data, particularly that for 2015 and 2016 to date, as not enough 
time has passed for all cases to reach each stage and those that have will 
be cases that are shorter in length - the average will therefore be lower than 
the eventual figure (98% of cases lodged in 2014 are classed as ‘Closed’, 
compared with 91% of cases lodged in 2015, and only 57% of those lodged 
so far in 2016). 
The mean time taken from lodging a case to the permission decision stage 
remained relatively stable between 2006 and 2013 where the number was 
118 and 126 days respectively (reaching a low of 89 in 2008 and 2010); 
prior to this, the number was stable at approximately 65 days. For those 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
18
cases lodged in 2015 classed as closed (91% of cases lodged), the mean 
time taken has reduced back to pre-2006 levels, at 67 days. This may be 
driven by the reduced caseload, due to most of the Immigration and Asylum 
cases moving to the UTIAC. 
The mean time taken from lodging a case to the oral renewal stage decision 
has fluctuated over the years. From 2000-2004, the average time was 130 
days. This increased rapidly, up to a peak of 267 days in 2007. The figure 
then fell sharply to 180 days in 2008 before rising to an average of 229 days 
from 2009 to 2013. For those cases lodged in 2015 classed as closed (91% 
of cases lodged), the number has fallen to 143 days. 
The mean time taken from lodging a case to the final hearing decision 
showed a similar pattern; 205 days in 2000 peaking to 425 days in 2006 and 
fluctuating since then. The 2013 figure stood at 374, while the 2014 figure 
fell considerably to 270 days.  For the 91% of cases lodged in 2015 classed 
as closed, the mean timeliness has fallen to 227 days. 
Figure 2.2: Average time taken for each stage of the Judicial Review 
process, calendar year 2000 to 20151  
 
1 The average time taken to reach each stage is calculated using only those cases that have reached the stage in 
question. Figures for later years will change in future publications as cases progress through the system, 
especially for cases lodged in 2015. 
Please note that prior to 2014, the timeliness analysis includes cases that 
were transferred to the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum 
Chamber. These cases were effectively closed on the COINS database in 
November 2013. 
 
 
 
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Time (days)
Lodged to permission
Lodged to oral renewal
Lodged to final hearing
Final hearing
Oral renewal
Permission

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
19
Totally without merit (Table 2.4) 
In refusing permission for judicial review, a judge can certify a case to be 
totally without merit (TWM). As part of the Government's reforms to judicial 
review procedures, for cases issued on or after 1st July 2013, a case 
refused permission and certified as totally without merit cannot be renewed 
at the oral renewal hearing stage. A claimant can however appeal against 
this decision, which would be dealt with at the Appeals Court (in criminal 
JRs, there is no appeal route from a refusal of permission if TWM). The 
outcomes of such cases are not recorded in these figures.  
Of the 3,281 cases lodged in the first three quarters of 2016, 1,898 have so 
far reached the permission or oral renewal stage at the time the data was 
extracted in October 2016.  Of these cases, 21% (390) have been found to 
be TWM. 
Annually, the proportion of cases reaching the permission or oral renewal 
stage that are classed as TWM has seen a slight decline, from 28% in 2013 
to 22% in 2014 and then to 20% in 2015 (note that the 2013 figure includes 
cases that would now be transferred to the Upper Tribunal of the 
Immigration and Asylum Chamber).  
 
 
 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
20
Annex A: Planned upcoming changes to publication 
There are currently no planned changes to the publication.  
 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
21
Annex B: List of Accompanying Tables and CSV 
Supplementary tables and CSV datasets are available alongside this 
bulletin, allowing users to analyse the data themselves. 
The following tables are available, showing data for England and Wales: 
Chapter 1 - Civil Courts:  
1.1 County court activity, England and Wales, annually 2000 - 2015, 
quarterly Q1 2009 – Q3 2016 
1.2 Number of claims issued in the county and magistrates' courts, by type 
of claim, England and Wales, annually 2000 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2009 – 
Q3 2016 
1.3 Claims defended and allocations to track, England and Wales, annually 
2000 – 2015, quarterly Q1 2009 – Q3 2016 
1.4 Judgments and outcomes in the county courts, England and Wales, 
annually 2000 - 2015, quarterly Q1 2009 – Q3 2016 
1.5 Number of trials and small claim hearings and the average time to reach 
trial/hearing, England and Wales, annually 2000 – 2015, quarterly Q1 
2009 – Q3 2016 
1.6 Number of defended claims by case type and details of legal 
representation, England and Wales, annually 2013 – 2015, quarterly Q1 
2013 – Q3 2016 
 
Chapter 2 - Judicial Reviews in the Administrative Court: 
2.1 Number of case applications for permission to apply for Judicial Review 
by topic, at the Administrative Court, 2000 – Q3 2016 
2.2 Case Progression: number of Judicial Review cases that reach 
permission stage, oral renewal stage and final hearing by cases lodged, 
at the Administrative Court, 2000 – Q3 2016 
2.3 Timeliness (in days) of Judicial Review cases started at the 
Administrative Court, by staged reached, 2000 – Q3 2016 
2.4 Number of Judicial Reviews at the Administrative Court classed as 
‘Totally Without Merit’ annually, October 2012 – Q3 2016 
 
Additional to the tables, there are three CSV datasets that contain county 
court breakdowns of civil the figures (case workload, case progression and 
timeliness) for England and Wales.  There is a guide that accompanies the 
CSV files found in the CSV zip-file on the publication web-age. 
For judicial reviews, there is a single CSV, which gives case level data from 
2000 to the present quarter and also an excel variable list that accompanies 
the CSV. 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
22
 Annex C: Timeline of changes to civil procedures 
 Brooke reforms – April 2013, changed the value limits for money 
claims allocated to each track. 
 Jackson reforms – April 2013, changed the process for managing 
multi track claims. 
 Implementation of the tribunals, courts and enforcement act – April 
2014, various changes to the procedures for enforcement of 
judgments. 
 Single county court – April 2014, changed the way in which claims 
are issued. 
 Introduction of secure data transfer (SDT) – November 2014, allowed 
customers issuing bulk claims to do so more easily. 
 Fee enhancements, March 2015 – increased the fee required to 
issue money claims. 
 Debtor petitions (whereby an individual files for bankruptcy), from 6 
April 2015 - moved from the courts to an online system and therefore 
no longer recorded in these statistics.  
 
 
 
 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
23
Annex D: Explanatory notes 
 
The United Kingdom Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as 
National Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration 
Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for 
Official Statistics. Designation can be broadly interpreted to mean that the 
statistics: 
 meet identified user needs; 
 are well explained and readily accessible; 
 are produced according to sound methods, and 
 are managed impartially and objectively in the public interest.  
Once statistics have been designated as National Statistics, it is a statutory 
requirement that the Code of Practice shall continue to be observed. 
Breakdowns of many of the summary figures presented in this bulletin, e.g. 
split by case type or by HMCTS area, are available in the comma separated 
value (csv) files that accompany this publication.  
In the civil section of the publication the terminology ‘hearings or trials’ had 
previously been used to describe civil claims reaching this stage.  We now 
use the term ‘trials’, as this is a more accurate reflection of what the figures 
represent. This does not change the historical or current figures reported.  
 
Data Quality and Revisions 
Revisions to the statistics for the latest quarter may be made when the next 
edition of this bulletin is published. Further revisions may be made when the 
figures are reconciled at the end of the year. If revisions are needed in the 
subsequent year, these will be clearly annotated in the tables. 
The Judicial Review figures are taken from the Administrative Court Office 
COINS database. As the Judicial Review figures are extracted from this live 
database, all figures are refreshed each quarter – as a result, there may be 
minor revisions between the new information presented in the latest bulletin 
and data published previously.  
 
Symbols and conventions 
The following symbols have been used throughout the tables in this bulletin: 
..    
= Not applicable 
(r) 
= Revised data 
(p) 
= Provisional data 
 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
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Further information 
Earlier editions of this publication can be found at: 
www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-justice-statistics-quarterly 
 
For information on Court judgments (including Privacy Injunctions) please 
see:  
www.bailii.org/databases.html#ew 
 
 
Statistics on Tribunals (including Judicial Reviews dealt with by the UTIAC) 
can be found at: 
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics 
  
Statistics on the use of interpreters and translation services in courts and 
tribunals can be found at: 
www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-the-use-of-language-
services-in-courts-and-tribunals  
 
Information on Civil County Court Mortgage and Landlord Possession 
Statistics can be found at: 
www.gov.uk/government/collections/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-
statistics 
 
Information on publicly funded legal services is now published by the Legal 
Aid Agency and can be found here:  
www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics 
 
Information on civil justice in Scotland can be found here 
www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/civil-judicial-statistics/ 
 
Information on civil justice in Northern Ireland can be found here  
www.courtsni.gov.uk/en-
GB/Services/Statistics%20and%20Research/Pages/default.aspx#County 
 
 
A detailed analysis of county court judgments by region produced by 
Registry Trust Ltd can be found at the link below. This data gives 
aggregated detail on judgments that have been made by the county courts 
and recorded on the judgments register.  
data.gov.uk/publisher/registry-trust-limited 
 
The total number of CCJs differs from that published in Civil Court Statistics 
Quarterly, because Registry Trust manually checks the details of each 
judgment. More detail on Registry Trust can be found at:     
www.registry-trust.org.uk/                                           
 

Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly July to September 2016 
 
 
25
Contacts 
Press enquiries on the contents of this bulletin should be directed to the 
MoJ or HMCTS press offices: 
Sebastian Walters (MOJ) 
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
Camilla Marshall (HMCTS) 
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx  
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to the Justice 
Statistics Analytical Services division of the MoJ: 
Tara Rose 
Ministry of Justice 
102 Petty France 
London 
SW1H 9AJ 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
General enquiries about the statistics work of the MoJ can be emailed to 
xxx@xxx.xx 
 
General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available 
from statisticsauthority.gov.uk/about-the-authority/uk-statistical-system 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© Crown copyright 
Produced by the Ministry of Justice 
Alternative formats are available on request from 
xxx@xxx.xx