The Senior Courts Costs Office update released on 24 July 2023

The SCCO reports on 24 July 2023 that they are dealing with assessments for requests that were made in late September 2022.

They point out that whilst bills have been assessed in late September 2022 onwards that there may be some delay in the admin team processing the notice of provisional assessment.

The admin team is dealing with assessed bills of costs passed to them by the Costs Offices from the 4th week of July 2023

e-filings are being processed for those submitted around the 2nd week of July 2023.

Final costs certificates submitted around the 4th week of July 2023.

Notice to customers regarding Court of Protection bills

Further to the previous update circulated on 10/07/2023, thank you to all our customers for your ongoing support, which is greatly appreciated by staff

Please find below the latest update with regard to dates being worked on:

The Costs Officers are currently being assigned bills of costs for which supporting papers were received around late September.

(We would like to clarify that there will be some delay between the bill being assigned to the Costs Officer and it being sent out by the Admin Team.  Therefore, whilst bills pre-dating late September are likely to have been assessed, they may not necessarily have reached the despatch stage yet. If a bill for which papers were submitted in the preceding weeks has not yet reached you, please be aware that it is likely to be awaiting processing by the Admin Team).

The Admin Team is currently sending out assessed bills returned to them by the Costs Officers during the 4^th week of July.  (Please note that we have no control over delivery times following despatch).

In terms of e-filings that have been submitted, but not yet accepted or rejected, we are currently working on new bill filings submitted around the 2^nd week of June and certificates submitted during the 4^th week of July.

In view of the above and in order to maximise the time that is spent working to reduce the backlog, we are politely requesting that you continue not to make enquiries about the progress of the following:

• Any bills for which supporting paperwork was submitted from late September
• Any e-filing not yet accepted/rejected that was submitted during or after 2^nd week of June .
• Final Costs Certificates where less than 2 weeks have passed since you received confirmation of acceptance.

Please bear in mind that any information provided regarding individual bills is an estimate and our staff cannot make guarantees as to when a particular case will be dealt with.

We do understand how frustrating delays can be for our customers and staff are working hard to improve the situation.  The reduction in chase-up queries is helping us to continue focusing the maximum resource possible on clearing the backlog.

Measures are being taken which should hopefully improve the situation in the longer-term, but in the meantime, your continuing assistance in restricting queries to urgent matters is greatly appreciated and helps us to deal with your bills as efficiently as possible.

The Senior Courts Costs Office

24/07/2023