Civil justice statistics in Scotland: 2011-2012

4. General Trends

Summary of General Trends:

• Almost three in ten adults (27 per cent) had experienced at least one of the civil law problems asked about in the 2010-11 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey in the last three years
• There were 85,256 civil cases initiated across both the Court of Session and the sheriff courts in 2011-12 (not including summary applications), a drop of 13 per cent on 2010-11 and 35 per cent on 2008-09.
• There is a large variation in the number of civil cases dealt with by the individual sheriff courts, with Glasgow having over 16,000 cases initiated in 2011-12 compared to the smallest courts which handled fewer than 100 civil cases.
• Sheriff court cases made up almost three quarters (72 per cent) of all gross civil legal aid costs in 2010-11.

Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Civil Module

4.1 The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS)^[3] included questions on the experience of civil law problems by adults in Scotland and their response to these problems. Respondents were asked about civil problems which may raise a legal issue or which, if not resolved earlier, could ultimately result in legal proceedings, for example, welfare rights, debt, housing, employment, divorce or separation and consumer issues. Respondents were asked about their experiences of problems in different realms of their life in the three years prior to interview^[4]. The problems examined were grouped into four different areas:

• Home, family or living arrangements;
• Money, finance or anything paid for;
• Unfair treatment; and
• Health and well-being.

4.2 Results from the 2010-11 SCJS show that almost three in ten adults (27 per cent) had experienced at least one of the civil law problems asked about in the past three years:

4.3 Sixteen per cent of adults had experienced problems with home, family or living arrangements; 12 per cent had experienced problems with money, finance or things they had paid for; 6 per cent had been treated unfairly in some respect; 6 per cent had experienced health or well-being problems.

4.4 The most common single problem was with neighbours, which 11 per cent had experienced. Six per cent of adults had experienced problems with faulty goods or services and 5 per cent of adults had experienced money or debt problems.

Figure 4: Types of civil law problems experienced: Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2010-11

4.5 Those people who had experienced a problem were asked what the current situation was with their problem^[5]: 53 per cent had solved the problem; 33 per cent were still trying to solve the problem; 8 per cent had tried to solve the problem but had given up; 7 per cent were not planning to do anything to solve the problem.

4.6 When the problem had been solved, most were satisfied with the results; 51 per cent said they were very satisfied and 31 per cent said they were quite satisfied. Six per cent were quite dissatisfied and seven per cent very dissatisfied with the outcome. As satisfaction was only asked of those who had solved the problem, it is not possible to assess the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the other groups with the outcome.

4.7 Where adults had solved the problem or tried to, 63 per cent had done so with help or advice from others, while 36 per cent said they had done so without any help or advice.

Figure 5: Main sources of providing help or advice to solve/try to solve only/most important problem: Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2010-11

4.8 The prevalence of civil problems experienced by vulnerable groups tends to be greater than for the general population (27 per cent in the 2010-11 SCJS). For example, those who live in rented (as opposed to owner occupied) accommodation (36 per cent), those who live in areas of multiple deprivation (35 per cent) and victims of crime (40 per cent) all suffered a higher prevalence of civil justice problems in 2010-11.

4.9 Similarly, people with added social and economic difficulties are in some cases less likely to have solved their problems than the general population (53 per cent). For example, 48 per cent of those who live in rented (as opposed to owner occupied) accommodation and 49 per cent of those who live in areas of multiple deprivation had solved their problem at the time of the 2010-11 SCJS.

Court data

4.10 There were 85,256 civil cases initiated across both the Court of Session and the sheriff courts in 2011-12 (not including summary applications), a drop of 13 per cent on 2010-11 and 35 per cent on 2008-09. The reasons for the continued decrease in overall civil business are unclear but may be partly due to the current financial climate inhibiting litigation. There is also a corresponding drop in overall disposals over the same period in the sheriff courts. [Table 1] [Table 2].

4.11 The fall in civil cases initiated is mirrored by a fall in the number of cases registered in the criminal courts^[6] across the same period; however, the decrease in criminal business may have been affected by summary justice reforms^[7] implemented as part of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007.

4.12 There were 4,754 first instance cases initiated in the Court of Session in 2011-12, 8 per cent lower than the number of cases initiated in 2010-11, and 11 per cent lower than in 2008-09. Conversely, the number of cases disposed of increased by 13 per cent between 2010-11 and 2011-12 to 4,856. The reason for this increase is likely to be related to a corresponding increase in cases initiated in 2009-10. [Table 1].

Table 1: Cases initiated and disposed of¹ in the Court of Session, 2008-09 to 2011-12

Department	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	% change on 2010-11
General Department
Initiated	3,736	4,479	3,723	3,390	-9
Disposed 3	2,961	3,167	3,187	3,455	8
Petition Department
Initiated	1,473	1,555	1,358	1,223	-10
Disposed	988	1,094	1,035	1,299	26
Inner House2
Initiated	120	118	95	141	48
Disposed	73	95	73	102	40
Total
Initiated	5,329	6,152	5,176	4,754	-8
Disposed 3	4,022	4,356	4,295	4,856	13

1. Figures for initiations and disposals do not necessarily refer to the same cases. See paragraph 11.9 for further details.
2. First instance business only - excludes appeals and reclaiming motions.
3. A new method was introduced by the Scottish Government in 2012 to process data received from the Court of Session which resulted in a slight change being made to the total number of cases disposed of in the General Department for 2010/11. In Civil Judicial Statistics 2010-11, the total number of cases disposed of was 3,183. This has now been amended to 3,187.

4.13 In 2011-12 there were 80,502 cases^[8] initiated in the sheriff courts, a fall of 13 per cent on 2010-11 and 36 per cent since 2008-09. The number of cases disposed also fell, to 77,147. This represents a 12 per cent drop since 2010-11 and a 31 per cent drop since 2008-09. [Table 2].

Table 2: Cases¹ initiated and disposed of² in the sheriff courts, by procedure, 2008-09 to 2011-12

Procedure	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	% change on 2010-11
Initiated
Ordinary Cause	46,477	42,823	34,123	26,021	-24
Summary Cause	32,736	27,464	23,799	22,783	-4
Small Claim	47,091	41,450	34,386	31,698	-8
Total	126,304	111,737	92,308	80,502	-13
Disposed
Ordinary Cause	38,902	33,911	29,768	23,410	-21
Summary Cause	31,231	27,568	24,036	22,434	-7
Small Claim	41,408	43,352	33,700	31,303	-7
Total	111,541	104,831	87,504	77,147	-12

1. Excludes summary applications.
2. Figures for initiations and disposals do not necessarily refer to the same cases. See paragraph 11.9 for further details.

Variation across courts and Sheriffdoms

4.14 The drop in the number of cases initiated is seen across all Sheriffdoms, with North Strathclyde recording the largest drop between 2010-11 and 2011-12 (18 per cent), and Glasgow and Strathkelvin the lowest (8 per cent). [Table 3] [Figure 6].

4.15 Similarly, the drop in the number of cases disposed is seen across all Sheriffdoms in 2011-12. North Strathclyde recorded the largest drop between 2010-11 and 2011-12 (19 per cent), and Glasgow and Strathkelvin the lowest (3 per cent). [Table 3].

Table 3: Cases¹ initiated and disposed of² in the sheriff courts, by sheriffdom, 2008-09 to 2010-11

Sheriffdom	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	% change on 2010-11	2011-12 cases per 1,000 population3
Initiated
Glasgow & Strathkelvin	24,919	22,389	17,784	16,305	-8	23
Tayside, Central & Fife	22,456	20,204	16,816	14,759	-12	14
South Strathclyde, Dumfries & Galloway	22,949	19,457	16,869	14,171	-16	16
Lothian & Borders	24,469	21,439	16,211	14,148	-13	15
North Strathclyde	17,177	14,907	12,954	10,577	-18	14
Grampian, Highlands & Islands	14,334	13,341	11,674	10,542	-10	12
Scotland	126,304	111,737	92,308	80,502	-13	15
Disposed
Glasgow and Strathkelvin	21,315	20,059	16,134	15,630	-3	22
Tayside, Central and Fife	20,160	18,730	16,081	14,343	-11	13
South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway	20,829	18,759	15,979	13,749	-14	16
Lothian and Borders	20,384	20,948	15,957	13,494	-15	14
North Strathclyde	15,687	13,455	12,218	9,921	-19	13
Grampian, Highlands and Islands	13,166	12,880	11,135	10,010	-10	12
Scotland	111,541	104,831	87,504	77,147	-12	15

1. Excludes summary applications
2. Figures for initiations and disposals do not necessarily refer to the same cases. See paragraph 11.9 for further details.
3. Based on 2011 mid-year population estimates [Table 25].

4.16 The 2011 mid-year population estimates have been used to determine the number of cases initiated and disposed in each sheriffdom per 1,000 population. Glasgow and Strathkelvin has the most cases initiated per 1,000 population (23 cases per 1,000 population), and Grampian, Highlands and Islands has the least (12 cases per 1,000 population). It is not possible from the data to determine why Glasgow and Strathkelvin should show a higher number of cases per 1,000 population compared to the other sheriffdoms (12-16 cases per 1,000 population). [Table 3].

4.17 There is a large variation in the number of civil cases dealt with by the individual courts, with Glasgow having over 16,000 cases initiated in 2011-12, compared to the smallest courts which handled fewer than 100 civil cases. There were fewer cases initiated in 2011-12 than in 2010-11 in all of the sheriff courts, with 45 (out of 49) courts disposing of fewer cases in 2011-12 than in 2010-11. [Figure 7].

Figure 6: Number of cases initiated, by sheriffdom, 2008-09 to 2011-12

4.18 The Scottish Court Service has suggested that these reductions in the number of cases being initiated and disposed may be affected by several factors. The economic downturn is thought to be affecting the number of debt-related cases being initiated, as the increase in the number of personal insolvencies may cause some creditors to feel that there is no value in raising a debt action where there is little chance of recovering any money. The Home Owner and Debtor Protection Act (Scotland) 2010 may also be responsible for part of the reduction (see paragraph 2.15 for more information).

Commissary Business

4.19 In 2011-12 the number of ordinary estates confirmed increased by one per cent from 21,038 to 21,329, with the average amount of ordinary estates confirmed increasing by one per cent to £205,000. These figures are broadly consistent with the 2008-09 figures, following a dip in 2009-10.

4.20 There were 2,348 small estates confirmed in 2011-12, a fall of eight per cent from the 2,553 confirmed in 2010-11. The average amount of small estates confirmed, however, rose by three per cent from £19,100 to £19,700. [See additional tables on Civil Law Statistics in Scotland website].

Legal aid spending^[9]

4.21 In 2011-12, the total number of civil legal aid applications decreased by six per cent to 20,015. Legal aid was paid in 14,915 civil court cases in 2011-12, a five per cent increase compared to 2010-11. In 2011-12, total civil legal aid spending across all courts was almost £46m, an increase of 17 per cent on 2010-11.

4.22 The number of civil legal aid applications relating to the Court of Session decreased by 11 per cent during 2011-12 to 1,191 while the number of cases paid legal aid relating to the Court of Session increased by seven per cent from 930 in 2010-11 to 995 in 2011-12. Civil legal aid spending relating to the Court of Session increased by over a third (38 per cent) to £12.3m during 2011-12.

4.23 The number of cases paid civil legal aid relating to the sheriff courts rose by 5 per cent between 2010-11 and 2011-12. In 2011-12, civil legal aid spending relating to the sheriff courts was £32.9m, an increase of 10 per cent since 2010-11. Civil legal aid paid out for sheriff court cases accounted for almost three quarters of total civil legal aid spending in 2011-12.

Table 4: Civil Legal Aid applications, by court, 2008-09 to 2011-12¹

Court	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	% change on 2010-11
Court of Session	1,171	1,299	1,339	1,191	-11
Sheriff Court	16,549	20,662	19,847	18,778	-5
Other Courts	18	67	65	46	-29
Total	17,738	22,028	21,251	20,015	-6

1. The figures in this table are not Official Statistics.

Table 5: Number of civil cases where Legal Aid was paid, by court, 2008-09 to 2011-12¹

Court	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	% change on 2010-11
Court of Session	1,000	1,222	930	995	7
Sheriff Court	11,757	11,917	13,301	13,900	5
Other Courts	17	12	10	20	100
Total	12,774	13,151	14,241	14,915	5

1. The figures in this table are not Official Statistics.

Table 6: Total Civil Legal Aid paid out (£000), by court, 2008-09 to 2011-12^1,2

Court	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	% change on 2010-11
Court of Session	7,752	8,656	8,944	12,346	38
Sheriff Court	23,701	25,821	29,765	32,877	10
Other Courts	288	535	124	366	195
Total	31,741	35,011	38,834	45,589	17

1. The figures in this table are not Official Statistics.
2. The monetary amounts relating to 2008-09 and 2009-10 were taken from the 2010-11 Annual Report. These figures were restated on a consistent basis with the 2010-11 figures, so will not be the same as the equivalent figures published in previous annual reports.

Figure 7: Number of cases initiated, by sheriffdom and sheriff court, 2011-12