Park Homes: County Court Judgments

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Monday 18th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I thank my noble friend for his question, which raises a very important issue. Again, this comes down to the site owners, who are responsible for the provision of utilities on the sites. The Government are considering more effective enforcement and looking to work with local authorities to ensure that utility provision is effective and, as my noble friend has highlighted, specifically that the health and safety of people who often may be unable to fend for themselves is protected against unscrupulous site owners.

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark]

My Lords, why do the Government not monitor county court judgments? It would give them valuable information that they could use in policy development.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I have already observed that we have to strike a balance. The other side of the coin is that various options are open to people in pursuing county court judgments, which are decisions of civil courts. It remains primarily the responsibility of creditors to achieve a resolution. A range of measures is available, including warrants of execution, attachments of earnings, third-party debt owners and orders for sale, all of which can help in getting a resolution on outstanding issues relating to the obtainment of payment.