Scottish Government

SUPPORTING COURT USERS:
The In-Court Advice and Mediation Projects in Edinburgh Sheriff Court

RESEARCH PHASE 2

3.3 Clients and Their Cases

Client profiles

3.3.1 Service users were only slightly more likely to be men, (50% compared with 45%). A further five per cent of service users sought advice on behalf of their clients, friends or relatives and their gender was not recorded. Most clients sought advice on personal matters (95%) while only 33 clients (3%) appeared to represent small businesses (though this may be an underestimate because of the difficulty of identifying this from client records). 13 clients (1%) sought advice from the In-court Advice Project on behalf of their own clients and they were mainly based in voluntary organisations.

3.3.2 The majority of clients (61%) were Local Authority tenants (616 clients) compared with 25 (3%) private tenancy clients and 66 (7%) house owners. The proportion of home owners amongst Project clients, however, is likely to have been underestimated as the housing status of more than a quarter of all clients was not recorded. They comprised a large proportion of all those clients who sought advice on matters other than housing.

Analysis of clients by matters on which advice sought

3.3.3 1017 clients sought advice over Phase 2. The majority of clients (90%) sought advice on matters related to housing arrears and other monetary claims, with actions for reparation, implement and eviction (unrelated to arrears) following far behind.

Table 3.6 Matters on which clients sought advice

1 December 1998 to 31 August 1999

*less than one

3.3.4 Compared with Phase 1, the number of clients seeking advice on matters relating to housing arrears rose from 371 to 613, and on matters relating to other monetary claims from 182 to 300. They increased from 54% to 60%, and from 27% to 30%, of all clients, respectively. As the Project matured, therefore, an increasing number and proportion of clients sought advice on just two matters. There were no marked changes in the numbers of clients seeking advice on other matters between Phase 1 and 2.

Analysis of clients by procedural remit of case

3.3.5 Changes in the number of clients seeking advice from the In-court Advice Project between Phases 1 and 2 also varied by procedure.

Table 3.7 No. of Clients consulting the In-court Advice Project, by procedure

*less than one

3.3.6 There was little real increase between Phase 1 and 2 in the number of clients seeking advice on small claims. Compared with the first nine months of the In-Court Advice Project, there was only a slight increase in the number of clients with small claims cases, rising from 217 to 225. This, however, constituted a decrease in the proportion of small claims clients dealt with by the Project, from 32% in Phase 1 to 22% in Phase 2.

3.3.7 There was an almost 50% increase in the number of summary cause (non-heritage) cases dealt with by the In-court Advice Project, from 46 to 66 cases, though the proportion of summary cause (non-heritage) cases remained stable.

3.3.8 There was a more than 50% increase in the number of Heritage cases dealt with by the In-Court Advice Project, from 390 to 615 cases. While summary cause (heritage) cases constituted 56% of all Project clients during Phase 1, they now comprised 61% of all clients in the nine month period beginning 1 December 1998.

3.3.9 The greatest proportional increase was in clients with matters relating to The Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 (see 3.2.8-3.2.12 for full explanation), rising from 3 (.4%) of cases in the first nine months of Project to 63 (6%) in the nine month period beginning 1 December 1998.

Analysis of clients by parties to the dispute

3.3.10 The kinds of cases about which clients sought advice were also analysed by inspecting parties to the dispute. Clients who approached the In-court Advice Project for advice and assistance between 1 December 1998 and 31 August 1999 were mainly involved in disputes brought by local authority landlords against tenants (589), by finance companies against debtors (69), by individuals against individuals (53), and by businesses (including services and trades) against consumers (70). The number and distribution of these cases were compared with disputes brought by clients during the first nine months of the Project which were covered by Phase 1 of the research.

Table 3.8 Cases by parties to the dispute

*Less than 1%

** More than 100% due to rounding off

3.3.11 Besides the remarkable increase in clients seeking advice on actions brought by local authorities against tenants, several other interesting differences between Phase 1 and 2 appear in Table 3.9. In particular, there is a decrease in clients seeking advice on claims brought by consumers against business, for which no immediate explanation comes to mind. Also, there is an increase in clients seeking advice on claims made by finance companies against debtors. This is partly explained by successful attempts, as the Project established itself, at reaching clients with matters relating to The Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987.

Analysis of clients by procedural status, type of claim and procedural remit of claim

3.3.12 Of 1017 clients who approached the In-court Adviser between 1 December 1998 and 31 August 1999, 16% (162) were pursuers and 83% (841) were defenders, compared with 22% pursuers and 77% defenders in the first nine months of the Project. This varied, however, according to the procedural remit of the case and the type of claim involved.

Table 3.9 Procedural status of client by procedural remit of case

1 December 1998 to 31 August 1999

* procedural status of some clients unknown

Table 3.10 Procedural status of client by type of claim

1 December 1998 to 31 August 1999

* Less than .5%

Analysis of clients by opponents and their legal representation

3.3.13 The role played by the In-court Adviser on behalf of her clients, as well as in the larger civil justice system, may be assessed by examining the opponents which Project clients faced and how they were represented. In the period covered by Phase 1 of the research, 79% of all Project clients faced local authorities or businesses and at least 79% of all Project clients faced legally represented opponents. In the period covered by Phase 2 of the research, an even higher proportion of Project clients faced local authorities and legally represented opponents.

Table 3.11 Types of opponents

*More than 100% due to rounding to whole number

3.3.14 The number of Project clients facing local authorities increased by over 50% and also increased proportionally. The number of Project clients facing business increased by over 40% and remained stable proportionally. The number of Project clients facing other individuals remained stable though decreased proportionally by over 30%.

3.3.15 When this is examined by procedure, 38% (85) of 225 small claims clients faced individuals during Phase 2 of the research, compared with 24% (16) of 66 summary cause clients, .2% (1) of 615 heritable clients and 2% (1) of 63 clients with matters pertaining to the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987. Of the 109 Project clients facing individuals, 77 (70%) were pursuers.

Table 3.12 Opponents and their legal representation

3.3.16 In Phase 2, at least 83% of all Project clients faced legally represented parties, while a further 7% of all clients (mainly potential pursuers) said their claim was at too early a stage in proceedings to know if this were to be the case. In Phase 2, only 6% of all Project clients (58 out of 1017 clients) identified themselves as involved in claims in which their opponents were not legally represented.

3.3.17 When this is examined by procedure, 42% (90) of 225 small claims clients faced parties who were legally represented during Phase 2 of the research, compared with 57% (37) of 66 summary cause clients, 100% of 615 heritable clients and 98% (62) of 63 clients with matters pertaining to the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987. Of the 58 Project clients facing individuals who were not legally represented, 37 (64%) were pursuers. Of the 74 Project clients facing individuals whose legal representation was not yet known, 72 (97%) were pursuers. Most of these clients had first consulted with the In-court Adviser prior to raising an action. It was therefore unsafe to predict at this stage whether or not their opponents would be legally presented should an action be brought against them.

Clients with cases outwith the remit of the Project

3.3.18 Clients also brought a small number of cases to the Project which were outwith its remit. These were monitored partly to inspect the accuracy with which referrals to the Project were being made and partly to assess the evidence for any obvious unmet need in the Sheriff Court. Only 36 clients, representing under 4% of all cases dealt with by the In-court Adviser in Phase 2, brought cases outwith the remit of the Project. This represented a slight numerical increase over the first nine months of the Project, (from 30 clients in Phase 1 to 36 clients in Phase 2), but a proportional decrease (from 5% of all clients in Phase 1 to under 4% in Phase 2) of all clients.

Table 3.13 Clients outwith remit of the Project

3.3.19 Compared with the number of clients seeking advice within the remit of the Project, these clients are unlikely to have made a great impact on its business. Nevertheless, the elimination of referrals to the Project of criminal cases is indicative of the greater awareness amongst court staff (and mainly security guards) as to the role of the In-court Advice Project. The increase in the number of clients with debts outwith summary cause jurisdiction may be indicative of the impact of inflation on the business of the Ordinary Court and/or an inability to deal with Ordinary Cause procedure amongst an increasing number of 'party' debtors, that is, debtors who could not afford legal representation.