Amendments to three of the Practice Directions supplementing the Court of Protection Rules 2017 have also been made. The amendments come into force as from 1 April 2024 and are summarised as follows;
– Practice Direction 2A has been amended to make provision for circumstances in which circuit judges and recorders may act as Tier 3 Judges;
– Practice Direction 19B is substituted to reflect updates to fixed costs that may be claimed by deputies and to make other consequential amendments to reflect recent case law.
The update provides for increases to fixed fees across all Categories I-VII. Also of note is the requirement with regards to Category VII – Preparation of a basic HMRC income tax return. The deputy is allowed to use P’s funds to pay for the completion of a complex tax return as a specialist service that P would normally be expected to pay for if P retained capacity. However, where the deputy wishes to instruct their own practice, in accordance with the judgment of Senior Judge Hilder in Re ACC [2020] EWCOP 9 they should obtain 3 quotes (including from their own practice) and decide which quote to accept as being in P’s best interests. This decision should be included in the deputy’s report to the OPG. If the deputy wishes to accept their own practice’s quote which is over £2,000 (plus VAT and disbursements), the deputy should seek the court’s specific authority before completing the tax return work.
Similarly with conveyancing costs; The deputy is allowed to use P’s funds to pay for the conveyancing costs of selling or buying a property as a specialist service that P would normally be expected to pay for if P retained capacity. Where the deputy is selling or purchasing a property on behalf of P and wishes to instruct their own practice, they should obtain 3 quotes (including from their own practice) in accordance with the aforementioned judgment of Senior Judge Hilder and decide which quote to accept as being in P’s best interests. Again, this decision should be included in the deputy’s report to the OPG. 15 and if the deputy wishes to accept their own practice’s quote which is over £2,000 (plus VAT), the deputy should seek the court’s specific authority before undertaking conveyancing
– Practice Direction 20B has been amended to clarify circumstances in which appeals from a Tier 2 Judge may be heard by the Court of Appeal.
The Amended Practice Direction can be seen here in full; 19B-Fixed-Costs-and-Deputy-Remuneration-in-the-Court-of-Protection-effective-from-1-April-2024.pdf (judiciary.uk)
For more information please contact
Rebecca Robson, Costs Lawyer
rebecca@rcostings.co.uk
01480 220823