Electronic bills in Court of Protection cases – Pilot in the Senior Courts Costs Office
From 1 November 2022 until 28 April 2023, professional deputies appointed by the Court of Protection, their legal representatives and other legal professionals involved in Court of Protection cases, may file their bills in respect of general management and other applications where the relevant authority has been obtained from the Court of Protection in electronic spreadsheet form.
The bill must follow the approved template (attached below) and must be filed using CE File.
This applies to new proceedings and also to existing matters which have a CE File reference number. Legal aid bills, bills with a legal aid element, and bills for work done in relation to applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority may not be filed in electronic form in this pilot. When filing an electronic bill, please use the options beginning “COP-E”. The assessed bills will be returned by the court by electronic means only.
The new electronic bill was devised by a working group chaired by Costs Judge Colum Leonard and I am very grateful to them for their hard work. The bill was the subject of focused consultation between 1 February and 3 May 2022, following which some adjustments were made.
If the pilot is successful, it is hoped that use of the electronic bill will be permitted after it ends.
Attached below are three versions of the spreadsheet bill:
- A template with no data added. This is the form to be used under the pilot.
- A version with “example data” added, illustrating how the bill works.
- A version with “example data” added, illustrating a provisionally assessed bill.
Also attached is a PDF version of the bill (the form in which hard copies would be served, if required) and Guidance Notes on completing the bill.
Andrew Gordon-Saker
Senior Costs Judge