We are all aware of the delays at the SCCO, but unfortunately that bill you submitted in August 2023 is still a while off being assessed and received back.

What are the delays?

Currently the Costs Officers are being assigned bills of costs for which supporting papers were received towards the end of April 2023.

The admin team are currently sending out bills returned to them during the beginning of March 2024.

With regards to e-filings that have been submitted, but not yet accepted or rejected, the SCCO are currently looking at filings submitted towards the beginning of November 2023. They are dealing with FCC filings submitted during the end of February 2024.

All together from filing the bill with the SCCO, to having it accepted, assessed and returned you can expect to be waiting around 15 months to receive your bill of costs back.

What can you do in the meantime?

Ensure your interim payments are up to date. As a Court of Protection Deputy, under Practice Direction 19B, you are entitled to bill up to 75% of your WIP incurred during the management period, with the remaining 25% to be taken once the FCC has been obtained.

Whilst the SCCO have asked customers not to chase any bill that falls into the 15 month window, as outlined above, we recommend keeping a record of when bills were submitted and accepted at the SCCO and to chase anything that is now greater than 15 months.

You can contact the SCCO directly at scco@justice.gov.uk with any queries, alternatively speak to your Cost Draftsman who may be able to assist. If you are contacting the SCCO directly please make sure you have the SC reference to hand for a quicker response.

If you have any questions on the information above, or any general queries please get in touch at ellie.howard-taylor@clarionsolicitors.com.