Getting it right first time – SCCO and Court of Protection costs assessments
Back in the summer the Senior Court Costs Office issued a note for practitioners providing advice on speeding up the process of costs assessments in court of protection matters handled by the SCCO.
The note provided details covering a number of areas and especially advice on dealing with documents. In the first instance to provide correct version of the COP E-Bill to and ensure both bills and final cost certificates are fully completed before filing on the CE system. Guidance is provided on the filing of both paper and electronic files in court protection matters.
Reference was made to the Professional Deputy Costs Good Practice Guidance issued by the OPG and the SCCO and the SCCO Guide which covers some of the common items that are disallowed on assessment – bank statement reconciliation, updating of records, dealing with incoming correspondents and only claim in 3 minutes to make a payment.
If you missed the practitioners note here’s a link to the document.
in order to assist with the practice note I’ve prepared a checklist highlighting the pertinent points.
Getting it right first time – OPG Deputy Standards
The office of the public guardian last updated its guidance for professional deputies in February 2023. This is always a good starting point to ensure you are claiming for the appropriate amount of work in general management as well as conforming to the rules and requirements issued by the Public Guardian.
Following the Re ACC and Others [2020] ECOP9 case the Public Guardian updated the Deputy Standards to reiterate the points made by HHJ Hilder in the judgment. If you pop along to section 1f. Adhering to fiduciary duties it states the deputy “must not take advantage of your position and your personal interests must not conflict with your duties as a deputy.”
You can undertake further reading from the OPG to really ensure you are getting it right when it comes to conflicts of interest by reading the guidance issued on 22 January 2021 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-guidance-for-deputies-in-response-to-acc-judgement
The most comprehensive guidance of all is provided by HHJ Hilder in her judgment issued on 27th February 2020 by turning to the Appendix – Summary of Conclusions which covers in depth what is general authority and when applications have to be made to the Court of Protection.
Getting it right first time – conflicts of interest
On the 19th March 2024 HHJ Hilder delivered her judgment in the case of Irwin Mitchell Trust Corporation v PW & Anor [2024] EWCOP 16 concluding the Court of Protection was no stranger to dealing with conflicts of interest. A nod was given to the specialist expertise required in dealing with investments handled by a deputy, however, the requirement to engage in a financial beauty parade was reiterated.
Putting it all together
Putting ACC and others together with the IM v PW and others leads to a conclusion that a conflict of interest should result in the matter in consideration should be reviewed further.
To avoid a conflict of interest my advice is to always refer back to the OPG Deputy Standards : Guidance for Professional Deputies which states –
- You must try to get three quotations for the work from three different providers.
- If projected costs are greater than £2000 plus VAT, you must obtain authorisation from the Court of Protection before costs are incurred.
- Where projected costs are less than £2000 plus VAT, there is no requirement to seek authorisation from the court. Details should be included in your deputy report including an explanation as to why the decision made is in the best interests of P.
- In situations when getting three quotations would cost more than the proposed work, you should make sure costs are appropriate and proportionate. In such cases you must provide details of your decision in the annual report.
- If an urgent decision needs to be made on behalf of P and there is not enough time to apply to court, you may proceed at your own risk and make a retrospective application for authorisation.
Get in touch with our Court of Protection team to enquire about our current training offering covering the guidance from the SCCO – getting it right first time and common issues in Bills of Costs.
