SCCO & Court of Protection Bills Update
At the recent Costs Law Reports Conference the former Master Haworth of the Senior Courts Costs Office, delivered his update from the SCCO with regards to the dealing with and processing of Court of Protection Bills.
The number of COP bills assessed by the SCCO is hovering around 11,000 a year.
- 2022–23: 11,164
- 2023–24: 10,591
- 2024–25 (to August): 10,583
There are between 600-1000 bills lodged every month to a dedicated team of 12 Costs Officers.
The current delays in dealing with COP bills stands around
- Bill submission 17 days
- Assessment of costs up to 56 weeks
SCCO Issues
Some of the common problems that the SCCO have to deal with are issues with files of papers uploaded to the DUC (Document Upload Centre). What are some of the issues? The requirement for a clear index to allow the costs officers to navigate your file and having the documents / correspondence in chronological order. The rejection of e-bills – make sure all the tabs are completed in the electronic bill.
To prevent common problems when seeking an assessment of Court of Protection matters it is recommended you read
- Getting it right first time-help us to process your requests July 2024
- SCCO guidance for COP bills and the Document Upload Centre
Use your bill narrative to cover unusual or significant events, the size of the estate and annual income and cover the reasons why the OPG Estimate has been exceed by 20%.
A Reminder on Bills of Costs
- Short form Bill under £3000 of costs – paper format
- Use electronic bills – reduces recalculations
- Fixed Costs – refer to PD 19B COP rules
The Future of Fixed Costs
- AI for repetitive work
- Senior Costs Judge raised in 2024 with practitioners and the Law Society but no response yet as to the Fixed Costs limits increase
Overheads are Disallowed
- Updating P’s budget
- Case plans updating
- Regular reviews
- Reading and reviewing letters
- Telephone holding time – not your fault! But remember proportionality
TG Case Unreported Master Whalan 2024
Dealt with three issues
- time spent authorising payments made by grade A Deputy (claimed at 3 minutes per payment) – Allowed 3 minutes by Grade D
- time spent conducting financial reviews in accordance with the SRA requirements claimed at 6 minutes per task – Disallowed and MW allowed 1-22 units per month
- time spent reconciling bank statements in transactions claimed at 6-12 minutes per statement. Disallowed and MW allowed in full
Litigation Support Costs
Historically litigation costs are not allowed in Court of Protection General Management costs as they are recoverable from the defendant.
- Take into account the Aimee Sakina Hewitt (SCCO unreported Master Haworth) case – which addressed deputy costs with regards to litigation
Examples of Litigation support include
- Evidence of care costs
- To support interim payment requests by providing information
- Attending a joint settlement meeting
- Drafting schedules of loss
Top Tips for Maximum Recovery
- Retainer – check and constantly review
- Hourly rates – check, review and evidence
- Narrative – exceptional and going over budget
- Estate – value and income
- Fee earners – Justify work done by grade B & C
- Estimate of Costs – update
- Attendance notes – use wisely
- Email chains – avoid
- Case plan – avoid
The latest update from the SCCO on dealing with Court of Protection matters makes for gloomy reading.
For bills of costs sent for assessment with files of papers they are now dealing with those submitted in October 2024. The good news is that the admin team are turning around assessed bills in one week to get them sent out. For those of you who have sent in a bill for assessment the admin team are processing those ready for assessment sent in on 17th November 2025 and those waiting for sealed final costs certificates.
If you would like the latest top tips from our team processing and submitting bills to the SCCO please get in touch to arrange a visit from our COP Training Team.
