This month, it has been announced that there will be an increase to the fixed costs following a revised publication of Practice Direction 19B, applicable from 1st April 2024 for COP practitioners. This is a welcome increase, given that the previous fixed costs were deemed to be outdated, particularly in light of the recent increases to hourly rates as a result of PLK, GHR 2021 and GHR 2024.
The new fixed costs are as follows:
| WORK CARRIED OUT | PREVIOUS FIXED COSTS ENTITLEMENT (plus VAT) | NEW FIXED COSTS ENTITLEMENT (plus VAT) |
| Application Work | 950 | 1204 |
| 1St GM year | 1670 | 2116 |
| 2nd and subsequent GM years | 1320 | 1672 |
| Deputy Report | 265 | 336 |
| Basic Tax Return | 250 | 317 |
| Complex Tax return | 600 | Reasonable/ or three quotes (ACC) |
| Conveyancing | Min 400 max 1670 | Reasonable /or three quotes (ACC) |
| Interim payments | Up to 75% of WIP, raised by way of three quarterly bills | Up to 75% WIP for the year or 75% of OPG105 estimate. whatever is lower. |
The increases to most of the fixed costs represents a 26% rise from the previous available figure.
As well as the increase to fixed costs, the threshold for hardship cases has also increased. This was previously £16,000 but this has now increased to £20,300. Therefore, if P has less than £20,300 in assets, the Deputy will be unable to have their costs assessed but instead will be limited to 4.5% of P’s assets.
The changes to interim payments is a welcome shift which will help cash flow for firms, as payments on account are not limited to quarterly, therefore billing monthly may be preferred so long as the OPG105 estimate is in line with the WIP incurred.
This month has also seen an announcement regarding the increase in court fees. Following a consultation, the government has decided to proceed with increases of 10% to 172 of the 202 fees that were proposed in the initial consultation. This will directly impact COP Practitioners. The court fee for requesting a detailed assessment has increased from £87 to £96, the court fee to appeal against a COP costs assessment decision has increased from £70 to £77 and the court fee for a request to set aside a default costs certificate has increased from £65 to £72.
There has also been an increase in court fees for Court of Protection applications. These have increased from £371 to £408. The court fee for appealing has increased from £234 to £257.
It is incredibly important that COP practitioners update their client care paperwork to reflect the new fixed costs if they are sought, in addition to the new court fees.
If you have any questions about any of the above, please feel free to contact Laura Sugarman at Laura.Sugarman@clarionsolicitors.com