Coronavirus (COVID-19): Justice Analytical Services data report- October 2021

This pack provides information on the impact of COVID-19 on the Justice system during October 2021.

Data has been gathered from a number of different sources and may be subject to future revision.

This document is part of a collection


Sheriff Court Civil Case Volumes

Initiations and disposals

Initiations in the Sheriff Civil Courts remain lower than the 2019-20 typical levels, while disposals have almost returned to 2019-20 levels (see dotted lines). In October there was an increase in both initiations and disposals from the previous month.

Chart: Initiations and disposals
Line graph showing case volumes remain low, but are recovering to 2019-20 typical levels.

Sheriff Court cases by procedure

Initiated case numbers for ordinary cause and simple procedure are returning to 2019-20 monthly average levels, with month to month variation. Ordinary cause numbers are comparable to the previous month. There was an increase in simple procedure cases from September. Summary cause is much lower than 2019-20 levels, and the number of cases is similar to the previous month. Small claims have largely been replaced by simple procedure.

Likewise, disposed cases for ordinary cause and simple procedure are returning to 2019-20 levels. Simple procedure disposals in October were much lower than the 2019-20 average levels while ordinary cause nearly matched 2019-20 levels. Summary cause disposals are returning to 2019-20 monthly average levels, but have been lower than the high in June, for the previous months.

Summary cause figures are heavily influenced by the emergency legislation which protected tenants during the pandemic, brought into force in April 2020 as part of Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020. The provisions of the Act expired on 30 March 2021.

Procedures Jun-21 Jul-21 Aug-21 Sep-21 Oct-21 2019/20 monthly average
Initiated
Ordinary cause 1,796 1,753 1,856 1,804 1,783 1,928
Summary cause 266 303 287 349 345 1,132
Small claim 0 0 0 0 0 2
Simple procedure 1,680 1,267 1,824 1,854 2,130 2,695
Total initiated 3,742 3,323 3,967 4,007 4,258 5,758
Disposed
Ordinary cause 1,638 1,400 1,501 1,383 1,420 1,445
Summary cause 848 556 658 578 647 1,096
Small claim 26 8 18 8 1 5
Simple procedure 1,928 1,772 1,892 1,526 1,682 2,306
Total disposed 4,440 3,736 4,069 3,495 3,750 4,852

1. Figures exclude summary applications.

2. Figures for initiations and disposals do not necessarily refer to the same cases.

3. Excludes Sheriff Personal Injury Court.

Focus on case types

  • The case types presented below show gradual return to 2019-20 levels of initiation, with some month to month variation. Family cases in October were higher than the 2019-20 average levels, while the other case types shown are lower.
  • Family disposals in October were higher than the 2019-20 average levels. All the other case types presented below are lower.
Case Type Initiated Cases (Oct 2021) Disposed Cases (Oct 2021)
Oct 2021 Change from 19-20 Oct 2021 Change from 19-20
Family 1,026 101% of 19-20 average month (1,014 cases) 925 104% of 19-20 average month (892 cases)
Children's Referrals 458 76% of 19-20 average month (602 cases) 157 60% of 19-20 average month (260 cases)
Debt 2,410 84% of 19-20 average month (2,883 cases) 1,879 79% of 19-20 average month (2,368 cases)
Personal Injury 350 87% of 19-20 average month (402 cases) 199 65% of 19-20 average month (306 cases)

Further Information:

Latest published Civil Justice Statistics

Contact

Email: JusticeAnalysts@gov.scot

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