Tag: Deputy

Updated practice guidance released by the OPG and SCCO – an important reference point for professional deputies!

Ella WilkinsonLeave a comment

On 28 May 2025, the good practice guidance previously issued by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and the Senior Courts Costs Office (SCCO) was updated. This guidance exists to assist professional deputies in respect of their costs estimates, preparing and submitting bills for assessment and in understanding what work can be claimed and recovered. The vast majority of the contents remain similar to the original guidance released by the OPG and SCCO dating back to 2016 in respect of the expectations from professional deputies in regards to general good practice and the SCCO’s approach to assessment, however more recent developments have now been factored in such as the use of the E-bill and the CE File system, the case of ACC and Others, the latest stance regarding post death costs and the increased hardship threshold.

This blog summarises the key points raised, to ensure that professional deputies continue act in P’s best interests and comply with the requirements of the OPG, SCCO and Court of Protection. Importantly, the guidance issued is not intended to replace existing provisions such as the relevant Civil Procedure Rules, Practice Direction 19B (supplementing Part 19 of the Court of Protection Rules 2017), the Mental Capacity Act (2005) Code of Practice, and the OPG professional deputy standards.

Principles of Good Practice

Professional deputies are entitled to claim reasonable and proportionate costs. Key expectations include:

  • Aligning costs with the value of P’s estate and the work involved
  • Delegating tasks to appropriately graded staff
  • Acting transparently and always in P’s best interests
  • Evaluating whether their continued role remains necessary as P’s situation stabilizes
  • Where deemed appropriate, deputies should be open and transparent about their charges with P’s relatives

Deputies who fail to follow this guidance may need to justify their decisions, and the OPG may take action, including applications to remove a deputy where concerns arise.

Costs Estimates

  • The OPG105 must be submitted with the annual deputyship report, and in most cases it should take no more than 30 minutes to complete
  • If billed costs exceed the original costs estimate by 20% or more, deputies must explain the discrepancy
  • Significant changes in P’s circumstances should be reported to the OPG if they will impact costs

Assessment of General Management Costs

The SCCO’s role is to assess whether claimed costs are reasonable and proportionate. Their key considerations include:

  • Hourly Rates: these must generally align with the relevant SCCO Guideline Hourly Rates (except in the most exceptional circumstances)
  • Delegation: routine tasks, such as arranging payments or bank reconciliations, should be completed by administrative staff or Grade D fee earners at best. In addition, when reviewing time claimed for delegation, the SCCO will consider if the time clamed was reasonable, proportionate, progressive and that it serves to reduce costs
  • Home Visits & Contact: usually, only one home visit per year is allowed unless justified
  • Welfare Work: these cannot be claimed under property and affairs general management costs unless the Court of Protection gives permission
  • Overheads: routine supervision, internal communication, and basic administrative tasks are considered overheads and are not generally not recoverable
  • Payment of Bills: three minutes will be allowed for payments per instance, and no further time is usually allowed for amending records to reflect payments made or advising a party of a payment processed to them
  • Financial Beauty Parades: generally, only one senior fee earner will be allowed on assessment for attending these meetings
  • File Notes: if no or little documentary evidence is supplied in support of the bill and/or particular items of work claimed, it is likely that the SCCO will disallow the costs claimed
  • Litigation Costs: the SCCO will disallow costs which could be claimed within the context of ongoing litigation
  • Draftsman’s Fees: a Grade D rate will be allowed for the preparation of bills of costs, unless in exceptional circumstances

ACC & Others Judgment

Where work falls outside of the scope of general authority for the management of P’s property and financial affairs, a professional deputy may need to apply for further authority in respect of this work and the associated costs as per ACC & Others. The full judgment can be seen here: ACC & Ors ( property and affairs deputy ; recovering assets costs for legal proceedings) – Find Case Law – The National Archives, and we have also previously prepared a blog summarising this and the practical implications for deputies which can be found here: ACC & Others – A Useful Recap – Clarion Legal Costs

Submissions of Bills of Costs & Supporting Documentation

  • Bills of costs should ideally be submitted annually for assessment, as close to the end of the management year as possible
  • Bills covering less than a year can be submitted where there has been a transfer of deputyship and the deputy intends to realign the management period dates with the new order. If this transfer is internal within the same firm, such bills must span at least six months of work unless in exceptional circumstances
  • Bills must be submitted via CE file, and can either be the traditional bills of costs set out under Practice Direction 47 CPR Part 47, or in the newer E-Bill format
  • The short form bill format is required where costs claimed are under £3,000.00 (excluding VAT and any disbursements claimed)
  • Supporting documents submitted alongside the bill should include the OPG105, deputyship report (OPG102/103), any relevant Orders made by the Court of Protection providing authority for work falling outside of the general authority, as well as evidence in support of the hourly rates claimed (client care paperwork)

Post-Death Costs and Hardship

On P’s death, the deputyship will come to an end and the jurisdiction of the Court of Protection will cease. Costs incurred post-death are not assessable by the SCCO. The deputyship order however will continue to authorise detailed assessment of costs incurred during P’s lifetime, if these cannot be agreed with the executor of the estate. If the professional deputy is also appointed as executor, a potential conflict of interest arises and a bill of costs should be submitted to the SCCO for assessment.

Where P’s estate has a value of less than £20,300.00, deputies must follow specific directions set out under Practice Direction 19B with regards to hardship. This states that in such circumstances, ‘the professional deputy for property and affairs is not permitted to apply for assessed costs; instead they may take an annual management fee not exceeding 4.5% of P’s net assets on the anniversary of the court order appointing the professional as deputy’.

Summary

The guidance aims to encourage fairness, consistency, and clarity in the way the costs of professional deputies are managed and assessed. For deputies, it reinforces the importance of transparency, efficiency, and the diligent management of P’s affairs.

Professional deputies are urged to familiarise and refresh themselves with the full guidance and relevant existing provisions to ensure that they continue to act in line with best practice expectations and requirements.

If you would like to review the guidance in full, this can be found at: Professional Deputy Costs – GOV.UK

New rules for property and affairs Deputyship applications: online submission becomes mandatory from 2 December 2024

Casey McGregorLeave a comment

Starting from 2 December 2024, legal professionals will be required to submit all property and affairs deputyship applications to the Court of Protection exclusively through the online submission portal. This change was announced by HMCTS (Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service) in an update sent out on 18 November 2024, with a clarification on 22 November confirming the correct date for the new rules.

What’s changing?

  • Previously, legal professionals had the option of submitting property and affairs deputyship applications on paper. From 2 December 2024, all property and affairs deputyship applications must be made digitally via the HMCTS online submission portal. This is part of an ongoing effort to modernise and streamline court processes. The online portal was initially launched in January 2023, following a successful pilot that began in 2021.
  • Property and affairs deputyship applications are typically filed when someone is unable to manage their own financial affairs due to incapacity, and a deputy needs to be appointed to act on their behalf. The Court of Protection oversees these applications, and from now on, the online portal will be the sole method for professionals to submit such applications.

Why the change?

  • The shift to a fully online process aims to make the deputyship application system more efficient, transparent, and accessible. Digital submissions reduce administrative burdens, speed up the process, and allow for better tracking of cases.
  • The updated Practice Direction 9H, which governs the process for property and affairs deputyships, will officially mandate online submissions for all legal professionals from 2 December 2024. Litigants in person will not be required to use the digital portal, although they are encouraged to do so if possible.

What happens if you don’t submit digitally?

  • For legal professionals, failure to use the digital submission portal after 2 December 2024 could have consequences. If an application is submitted on paper rather than digitally, the Court of Protection is unlikely to grant authorisation for recovery of the application costs from the Protected Party’s estate. This means that firms could face the financial burden of covering court fees, which would normally be reimbursed from the Protected Party’s estate.

Steps Legal Professionals should take going forward:

  1. To use the online submission portal, legal professionals must have an active Payment by Account (PBA) number. This free service allows firms to pay HMCTS-related court fees via direct debit. If your firm hasn’t already registered for PBA, it’s important to do so before the deadline to avoid any delays in submitting applications. Registration is available through the HMCTS online services portal.
  2. Legal professionals should make sure they are fully familiar with the new submission process, including how to upload documents, and complete the forms. HMCTS provides detailed guidance on how to use the online portal effectively.

You can find out more about our services here or you can contact the Costs and Litigation Funding team at costs.support@clarionsolicitors.com.

The SCCO Guide 2023: Key Points for COP Practitioners

Ella WilkinsonLeave a comment

The Senior Courts Costs Office have recently released their 2023 guide, and within this Section 27 specifically deals with Court of Protection cases. Please find below a summary of the main points raised.

Reference to Fixed Costs:

The guide references the fixed costs available to practitioners, which can be found under Practice Direction 19B Court of Protection Rules (2017). The Court Order in place will state whether fixed costs apply, or whether the Deputy is entitled to a detailed assessment of their charges. Deputies have the option of electing to take fixed costs instead of proceeding with detailed assessment if deemed appropriate in the case. Further details on the fixed costs available can be found at: https://clarionlegalcosts.com/2022/01/11/strongwhat-fixed-costs-can-be-taken-within-court-of-protection-cases-strong/  

Process of Assessment:

Where P is alive and continues to lack capacity to manage their property and affairs, then the Deputy is unable to simply agree their costs. Where P is subject to an ongoing Order in the Court of Protection and it is ordered that the Deputy’s costs are payable out of the estate of P, then a detailed assessment will be required. However, there are some exceptions where a Deputy is available to agree their costs without the need for assessment, such as in agreeing their outstanding costs with a trustee or administrator where P has passed away, or in agreeing their outstanding costs with P if they have regained capacity and are no longer subject to an Order in the Court of Protection.

To proceed with a detailed assessment, the Deputy is required to lodge with the SCCO:

  • A request for detailed assessment via form N258B (suitable for the majority of cases where the fees are payable out of a fund)
  • A copy of their bill of costs
  • The document giving the right to detailed assessment (Order)
  • Copies of all Orders made by the Court in relation to the costs to be assessed
  • Copies of any Counsel’s fee notes or expert fees claimed within the bill
  • Written evidence of any other disbursements claimed that exceed £500.00
  • A statement signed by the receiving party providing their name, address for service, reference and telephone number
  • A statement including a postal address of any person having a financial interest in the outcome of the assessment, including confirmation of whether this person is a child or a Protected Party
  • Relevant fee payable (currently £87.00)
  • Copies of the OPG102/OPG105 for the applicable year where the assessment relates to general management of P’s property and financial affairs

As a general rule, bills of costs with profit costs of less than £100,000.00 will typically be dealt with by a Cost Officer, with bills in excess of this or more complex in nature tending to be dealt with by a Costs Judge.

Format of bills:

As has been the case since 1 January 2020, all Court of Protection matters are to be e-filed using the CE-File system.

From November 2022 to March 2023, a successful pilot scheme ran regarding the use of the e-bill for Court of Protection cases. E-bills can continue to be filed with the SCCO, however the older style paper bills can also still be prepared and submitted at this time. For general management bills, the year covered within the bill should also be stated at the start, and all bills should include the title of the matter, name and address of the firm, contact number and the matter reference.

For bills with profit costs of under £3,000.00 excluding VAT and disbursements, the Deputy can elect for a short form bill of costs to be prepared for assessment.

Hourly rates:

For work done up until 31 December 2017, the Costs Officers will continue to apply the 2010 Guideline Hourly Rates when assessing bills, unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Further to the decision in PLK and Others (2020) and the rates considerations undertaken, the SCCO have clarified that the judgment does not serve to disapply the indemnity principle in that the practitioner is able to bill at higher rates than provided for within their retainer/client care paperwork. If the rates stated with a retainer are in line with the 2010 Guideline Hourly Rates, then the Deputy is unable to claim and recover any higher rates until this has been updated. If a retainer is silent as to rates or there isn’t a retainer in place, then the Costs Officers will take the approach of applying the 2010 Guideline Hourly Rates up until 30 September 2021, and the 2021 Guideline Hourly Rates thereafter.

In the eventuality that a retainer provides for the 2010 Guideline Hourly Rates alone or for a claim in line with the judgment in PLK and Others, then the Deputy is unable to claim higher rates until this paperwork is updated to facilitate a claim for the 2021 Guideline Hourly Rates. The SCCO have reiterated that it is the responsibility of practitioners to ensure that their paperwork is kept up-to-date, in order for them to keep benefitting from any rate increases.

Authority to assess costs:

The SCCO have confirmed that the Costs Officers will treat the costs of a deputyship application as ending on the date of issue of the Order, which it is noted may be some time after the actual date of the Order. Therefore, any costs incurred after the issuing of the Order will be treated as falling within the first period of general management.

When a Deputy then lodges their bill of costs for the initial management period following their appointment, they should provide a copy of the Order authorising the assessment of their costs. However, the SCCO have advised that they keep records of Orders, and as such that the Deputy is not required to continue to submit a copy in filings for subsequent management years.

In addition, where the Deputy has the option of either taking fixed costs or opting for detailed assessment and chooses to have their costs assessed, then it is good practice to confirm within the narrative of the bill that they have not taken fixed costs for the work undertaken.

Options post assessment:

If the Deputy is not content with the outcome of the assessment and disagrees with reductions made, then they have the option to contact the Costs Officer within 14 days of receiving the provisional assessment to request an informal review of the bill. If the Deputy continues to be dissatisfied after the Costs Officer’s response, then they can progress the matter and request that the SCCO fix a date for an oral hearing before a Costs Judge.

Where a Deputy wishes to accept the provisional assessment then the bill summary requires completion and submission, along with certifying the relevant section of the bill of costs. The Final Costs Certificate will thereafter be issued by the SCCO.

Welfare work:

The general rule with regards to health and welfare work is that there will be no Order as to the costs of proceedings, unlike for costs incurred in relation to property and financial affairs which will generally include an Order for costs to be paid by P or charged to their estate following assessment. If proceedings concern a mix of the two, then the SCCO will as best as possible apportion costs between respective issues.

Costs of sale or purchase of property:

The assessment of costs for these matters generally will take place at the end of a transaction, unless the Court directs otherwise. Unless a sale is completed by trustees, then the fixed rates set out under Practice Direction 19B will apply.  

Post-death costs:

An Order or Direction that costs incurred during the lifetime of P are to be paid out of the estate can be made up to six years after their death. Costs up until the date of the death of P are covered under the authority given in the Deputyship Order, however if these cannot be agreed with the personal representatives, then the outstanding charges can also be assessed under the existing Deputyship Order.

Where P dies whilst an assessment is pending, the Deputy should inform the SCCO in order to suspend the assessment of costs incurred after the date of death until a final direction is obtained, which the Deputy is required to apply for from the Court. Once costs have been assessed, the Deputy will be required to serve a copy of the bill on the appointed personal representatives, or alternatively can seek to agree their outstanding charges with the personal representatives instead of opting for the assessment process.

Payments on account:

Deputies are able to take payments on account, known as interim bills, for the first, second and third quarters of the year in respect of annual management charges, taking into account the size of the estate and functions performed and ensuring that their charges are proportionate and reasonable with regards to the same. Interim bills are to not exceed 25% of the estimated annual charge each quarter, and should not exceed 75% across the management year, as set out under Practice Direction 19B.

In summary, the Court of Protection section of the SCCO Guide for 2023 provides clarification as to key information for professional Deputies with regards to the assessment process and the recovery of their costs for work undertaken on P’s behalf, and is a useful reference tool in this regard for practitioners.  

Ella Wilkinson is an Associate in the Costs and Litigation Funding team at Clarion, and can be contacted for further information at ella.wilkinson@clarionsolicitors.com

You can find out more about our services here or you can contact the team at costs.support@clarionsolicitors.com.

Can you charge interest on Deputyship costs?

Stephanie KayeLeave a comment

It is commonly questioned about whether or not interest is payable on legal fees incurred by a professional Deputy in a Court of Protection case. Interest on unpaid legal costs is governed by the Judgments Act 1838 and Section 74 of the County Courts Act 1984. It is stated that the rate applicable which a receiving party can reasonably be charging interest at is 8% on any unpaid legal costs owed by the paying party. Interest will not run on any payment of costs made on account, therefore if interim payments have been taken, interest will not accrue on those sums.

In Thomas v Bunn [1991], it was held that where a defendant is ordered to pay ‘damages to be assessed’, interest on the damages only ran from the date of the judgment or order assessing the damages payable and not from the date of the order establishing liability. As a result and applying that same logic, it’s widely accepted that interest will run in COP cases but only from the date of the Final Costs Certificate as this is the time that the amount payable is known. If the costs have not been assessed and no Final Costs Certificate has been made, interest cannot accrue.

Practically, it is an additional statutory entitlement so is in addition to the invoices already rendered, but not vatable. The party must be notified that interest is accruing.

Many firms take the view that it is not appropriate to charge interest on legal fees in COP cases where still acting as Deputy, as it would not be deemed in P’s best interests. That said, there are circumstances whereby the Deputy may expect not to receive payment for some time and therefore charging interest may be necessary, for example, pending the sale of a property to release cash assets. It is for the Deputy and the Deputy’s firm to decide whether to charge interest on the legal fees.

If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Kaye at stephanie.kaye@clarionsolicitors.com

Hardship cases – the practical implications of acting as Deputy when there is no money left

Ella WilkinsonLeave a comment

P is classed as hardship where their net assets at the anniversary of the Deputyship Order are less than £16,000.00. In such cases, a Deputy cannot have their costs assessed and will instead be limited to a fee not exceeding 4.5% of the value of P’s estate, as per Practice Direction 19B of the Court of Protection Rules (2017) which can be found here: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/pd-19b-fixed-costs.pdf  

However, where the Deputy, for instance, has incurred work for the management year of approximately £10,000.00, has already billed £7,500.00 in accordance with the Practice Direction and the procedures for quarterly interim billing, and P has a net estate value of £20,000.00 at the end of the management period, it is unlikely that the final settling bill following assessment of the bill of costs will take P under the hardship threshold. As such, in such a circumstance the Deputy’s bill of costs will not have technically taken P into hardship, and a slight grey area in this regard exists in that the Deputy can still have their costs assessed, though it is not always favourable by the Office of the Public Guardian.

Further grey areas arise where the Deputy may be one of several organisations to be owed money, but there may be a limited pot of money to meet the outstanding liabilities. There is no guidance to suggest that the Deputy’s costs are further down the pecking order than any other liability, however, it is best to contact the OPG in these circumstances to ensure that they agree with the billing approach.

Similarly, if billing the entire value of the Deputy’s work will take P’s assets below the £16,000.00 threshold, it may be appropriate to make a decision to only bill a proportion of the costs incurred. This would be in P’s best interests and would ensure that the assets do not fall below the threshold. It is recommended that costs are still assessed in these circumstances and that the Final Costs Certificate is obtained, but that a reasonable sum is billed as opposed to the full amount owing. If P’s assets are fluctuating, this allows for the Deputy to bill the remaining allowed costs as and when P is in a financial position to pay.

The case of Penntrust Ltd v West Berkshire District Council & Anor (2020) previously dealt with a common issue surrounding what is classed as a net asset for the purposes of calculating whether P fell below the hardship threshold for the purposes of having costs assessed. The case concerned in particular whether a property owned by P should be disregarded from the net assets calculations. The case concluded that property owned by P will be classed as a net asset for these purposes, even if P or a dependant of P resides in it. The case highlighted the logic of “total assets less total liabilities”. If P has over £16,000.00 on the anniversary when any liabilities are subtracted from the total value of the estate, then costs can be assessed.

More recently, the Costs Officers at the SCCO have been increasingly insistent in being provided with details of P’s estate within the narrative of bills of costs prepared, to ensure that a) P is not below the hardship threshold or that the bill drawn up will not take P into this, and b) to ensure proportionality in respect of the size of P’s estate and the costs being claimed.

For more information or any queries, please contact Ella Wilkinson who is an Associate in the Court of Protection branch of the Costs & Litigation Funding Team at Clarion at ella.wilkinson@clarionsolicitors.com. You can also find out more about our services here.

The COP E-Bill – the good, the bad and the technical

Stephanie Kaye1 Comment

The COP E-Bill has been in the pipeline for well over a year and the E-Bill pilot will start on the 1st of November 2022. Stephanie Kaye shares what practitioners need to know about the change, including when we can expect it and what it means practically for deputies.

When will it go live?

The consultation for the E-Bill concluded in May 2022. It was then necessary for the E-Bill working group to meet and discuss the comments made about the E-Bill to decide if any further changes or tweaks were required. The working group consists of Costs Judge Leonard, Costs Officer Leggett, Costs Officer Prendergast, Richard Benn from CostsMaster, Andrew McAulay from Clarion, Stephanie Kaye from Clarion and Ian Gibson from Irwin Mitchell.

Many useful observations were made during the consultation which needed to be incorporated or changed in the latest version of the COP E-Bill. This is a time-consuming process, coupled with the Costs Officer training needed at the SCCO, meaning that the final E-Bill will launch in pilot form in the autumn on the 1st of November 2022. Once live, the E-Bill will be accepted by the SCCO for assessment but will not yet be compulsory.

Electronic bills in Court of Protection cases – Pilot in the Senior Courts Costs Office | Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

What is so different about the E-Bill?

Simply put, the E-Bill is in Microsoft Excel format compared with the Microsoft Word format of the traditional COP Bill. Excel is much better for calculations and therefore provides a slicker, fresher alternative to the usual assessment whilst being equally as accessible by all. The benefits of the E-Bill include things like typed comments from the SCCO as to the reductions made, making it very straightforward to follow, and automatically recalculated Bills allowing you to instantly see what has been allowed on assessment.

There is a new requirement to tell the SCCO about the Protected Party’s asset value. This is to ensure that there are sufficient funds to meet the outcome of the assessment, but it also allows the Costs Officer to consider if the costs incurred are proportionate to the value of the estate – something that wasn’t quite so transparent before.

If it’s a general management year, you/the Draftsperson are required to input the OPG105 estimate in the Bill of Costs. Again, this is much more transparent and will allow the Costs Officer to easily see if you have exceeded your predicted costs, potentially making your costs vulnerable on assessment.

We are all familiar with some of the illegible comments of Costs Officers in the current Bills as we know them. The E-Bill provides a space for the Costs Officers to type their comments and justification regarding the reductions made and after assessment, a table of findings (Tab 15) will be populated with the relevant reductions which apply to your case. This not only means that you know what is reduced, but also why.

There are also several handy things to note about the E-Bill, too. This has been developed to be very user friendly and efficient, with many, many meetings in the background to test different functions and ensure it works. One useful tool is that there is an email address box on the front of the Bill. This is the email that the assessed Bill of Costs will be sent to at your firm and it’s up to you to choose a suitable address, meaning that there are no waiting times following the outcome, speeding up the process.

It is expected that the E-Bill will be signed electronically as it is not possible to add a wet signature to an E-Bill. Tab 11 is the traditional certificates page that we are all familiar with.

Practically, how does it work?

As for the content of the Bill, this remains largely unchanged, however it is presented in a different way. Tab 6 of the Bill shows all work undertaken collectively in various columns, collating the previous documents schedule and party work that we are used to seeing separately. This can look quite overwhelming, particularly if it’s a bigger case, but the filter options will assist the Costs Officer in narrowing down what exactly they are looking for. One addition within the E-Bill is the requirement for an activity code to be selected for each entry of time by the Draftsperson, allowing the Costs Officer to filter by that activity on assessment to see alternative filters of the work undertaken (for example, they may wish to filter by ‘travel’ allowing them to see the overall cost of travel incurred, regardless of which party it is accrued against). A table of what these activities are is in Tab 16. The E-Bill is much more flexible than the previous Bill in this regard, as there are multiple categories which could be used to filter specific work types or parties, allowing the Costs Officer to undertake a more robust assessment.

The E-Bill is colour coded in columns, separating the columns of the work as claimed and which columns are exclusively for the Costs Officer’s use. The blue columns (time allowed, fee earner allowed and fee earner rate allowed) can be edited by the Costs Officer as they see fit. Again, the transparent nature of the E-Bill will then clearly show what was previously claimed against what was allowed by the Costs Officer in those different columns. Any cells edited by the Costs Officer are then highlighted in yellow, clearly showing where the Bill has been reduced or changed.

Once the Costs Officer has undertaken their assessment, this auto-populates a Bill breakdown in Tab 7 showing what was claimed and what was allowed as a whole. There is also space here for the Costs Officer to give any directions, which are easily missed in the current Bill of Costs as they are not always legible.

The E-Bill then goes on to provide various summaries, mainly to allow other ways of filtering depending on what the Costs Officer wants to review and/or what the firm wants to see has been allowed. It provides an activity summary (Tab 8), a communications summary which is similar to the traditional layout of the standard Bill of Costs broken down by parties (Tab 9), and a fee earner grade summary (Tab 10) which may assist some firms with Billing after assessment.

Tab 12 of the E-Bill is the traditional Bill summary required by the SCCO after assessment when requesting the Final Costs Certificate. Again, this is auto-populated with the costs allowed following assessment, avoiding the usual administrative work.

Tab 13 is the traditional Final Costs Certificate and again, this is auto-populated with the costs.

How will this impact COP practitioners?

The E-Bill will make life easier for the Deputy and their team. The assessment will be returned quicker, the comments will be legible and the assessment is automatically recalculated, dramatically reducing the administrative burden. It will take more time for the Draftsperson to prepare the Bill as a result of the activity breakdown required.

Deputies must be mindful of their OPG105 estimates (if a general management case) as the Costs Officer will have greater visibility of the costs incurred compared with what was predicted, which could potentially result in sizeable reductions to the Bill if the estimate was incorrect and not revised during the year.

Ultimately, the introduction of the COP E-Bill will be positive for professional Deputies and the change should be embraced by all. If you have any further questions regarding this article or the E-Bill, please contact Stephanie Kaye directly.

Recent Developments from the Professional Deputies Forum

Casey McGregorLeave a comment

Clarion are delighted to work alongside the Professional Deputies Forum (PDF) and we wanted to share the recent great efforts of the PDF working group, which our Stephanie Kaye is a part of.

Interim payments and fixed costs

Following on from the recent delays with the SCCO, at the recent Court of Protection Rules Committee, Martin Terrell (representing the PDF), proposed the idea of extending interim payments in matters other than the general management costs. An agreement was reached, whereby in matters where a final order has been made, solicitor-applicants are allowed to ask the Court for interim payment of up to 75%. This ensures that the solicitors will not have to wait until after assessment to receive their costs in matters such as Deputyship applications, statutory will applications or other ad-hoc applications. The Deputy would need to issue a credit note if the final costs allowed on assessment are less than the amount taken on account and these funds would then need to be returned to P. This development will need to be trialled, however, it will benefit many firms and ensure that they are able to remain financially viable. This is huge progress for those firms who carry significant WIP on application cases.

SCCO delays

The PDF has written to the Cost Judges to express their viewpoint on the delays and lack of engagement from the SCCO with the PDF. The PDF has advised that the only official route of complaint is via the HMCTS. Members of the PDF are encouraged to file complaints via this method if they have not already done so in the hope that the volume of complaints will have a greater impact and achieve the shared goal amongst Court of Protection practices. There is a direct link to the complaints procedure on the SCCO website. Any progress made with the SCCO will be shared on the PDF forum and also on the Clarion blog.

If you have any questions regarding the work of the PDF working group or any concerns to bring to the attention of the PDF, please contact Stephanie Kaye directly.

This blog was written by Casey McGregor. If you have any questions regarding COP costs, please contact Casey at Casey.Mcgregor@clarionsolicitors.com

When is a Deputy Entitled to Have a Bill of Costs Assessed by the Senior Courts Costs Office?

Laura SugarmanLeave a comment

Professional Deputies are entitled to take costs for the work that they have carried out throughout a management year. This must be completed in accordance with the rules set by the Court of Protection, Senior Courts Costs Office, and Office of the Public Guardian. The Deputy will most likely opt for their costs to be assessed by the SCCO, and otherwise they could take fixed costs.

When a Deputy is appointed, the Court of Protection make a Court Order outlining the authority of the Deputy. One such authority is the Deputy’s entitlement to be paid in respect of the work done on behalf of P. Under the ‘Costs and expenses’ section of the Court Order, the Costs Judge will outline how the Deputy should be remunerated for their costs, which is typically either fixed costs or detailed assessment by a Costs Officer.

If the Deputy would like to have their costs assessed, as the time they have spent outweighs the amount allowed by fixed costs, then they must have authority within the Order to do so.

Below is an example of a costs clause within an Order that grants authority for the Deputy to receive fixed costs only:

            ‘The Deputy is entitled to receive fixed costs in relation to this application, and to receive fixed costs for the general management of the Protected Party’s affairs.’

As a reminder, some of the key current fixed costs available are set out in Practice Direction 19B of the Court of Protection Rules (2017), and are as follows:

  • £950.00 + VAT for a Deputyship application
  • £1,670.00 + VAT for the first year of general management of P’s affairs
  • £1,320.00 + VAT for second and subsequent years of managing P’s affairs

You can find the full Practice Direction here, if you require further information: https://www.judiciary.uk/publications/fixed-costs-in-the-court-of-protection/

Below is an example of a costs clause within an Order which gives authority for the Deputy to have their costs assessed by the SCCO, or to take fixed costs if they prefer:

            ‘The Deputy is entitled to receive fixed costs in relation to this application, and to receive fixed costs for the general management of the Protected Party’s affairs. If the Deputy would prefer the costs to be assessed, this order is to be treated as authority to the Senior Courts Costs Office to carry out a detailed assessment on the standard basis.’

Where a Court Order provides for detailed assessment of the Deputy’s costs, Deputies may decide to take fixed costs in lieu of detailed assessment, but this is not mandatory. If you have authority for the assessment of costs in your Order and you will exceed the fixed costs amount, we recommend that you opt for assessment instead, as it is very likely that you will recover more than the fixed costs amount.

If a Deputy has incurred more time than allowed under the fixed costs amount when administering P’s affairs, but only has authority to take fixed costs, then they may choose to apply to the Court of Protection for an amended Court Order granting authority to have their costs assessed.

If a Court order does not grant authority for costs at all, then the Deputy can apply to the Court of Protection to amend the Court Order to include a clause for costs. Otherwise, the Deputy would have no authority to charge for the work that they have completed.

For further information, please contact Lewis.Grant@ClarionSolicitors.com

You can find out more about our services here or you can contact the Costs and Litigation Funding team at costs.support@clarionsolicitors.com

New update from SCCO on COP assessment delays

Ella WilkinsonLeave a comment

This evening, the SCCO have released a further notice in relation to the ongoing delays with COP assessments.

In summary, turnaround is as follows at present:

  • Bills received at the beginning of September 2021 are currently being assessed
  • The Admin Team are processing the return of assessed bills received back from the Costs Officers in the third week of January
  • New filings for assessment received around the middle of January are being considered for acceptance/rejection
  • Certificate request filings received in the last week of February are currently being reviewed and actioned

Please see the link below for the full notice released:

Notice-to-COP-customers-07-March-2022-SCCODownload

You can find out more about our services here or you can contact the Costs and Litigation Funding team at costs.support@clarionsolicitors.com.

Further update from SCCO on COP assessment delays

Ella WilkinsonLeave a comment

Please see below an update notice released by the SCCO this afternoon, providing a further update on the current turnaround times for COP assessments.

In summary, the Costs Officers are currently assessing bills received around mid August 2021, and the Admin Team are working on returning bills that have been assessed, and are currently up to those assessed just before Christmas.

With regards to e-filing, new filings submitted towards the start of January are currently being dealt with, and final costs certificate requests received towards the end of January are being processed at present.

Update-Notice-to-COP-customers-21.02.22Download

You can find out more about our services here or you can contact the Costs and Litigation Funding team at costs.support@clarionsolicitors.com.