Court Fees Order 2020

What happened?

As of August 3^rd,The Court Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2020, will be introduced reducing numerous fee orders, primarily the Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008. These fee reductions will apply to England and Wales.

What does this mean?

On an application for an order under particular provisions of the Children Act 1989 or, the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 the following are some of the fees that will see a price reduction:

• Applications for an amendment of enforcement order by reason of change of address, will reduce from £95 to £72

• Filing a request for a detailed assessment where the party filing the request is legally aided, is funded by the Legal Services Commission or is a person for whom civil legal services have been made available under arrangements made by the Lord Chancellor under Part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and no other party is ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings. This fee has been reduced from £200 to £94.

The prices set for fee’s reflect the costs of services being provided. Previously the order was amended in 2014 where the fees were increased, the rate of the fee is changed to reflect inflation rates. A review of fees is conducted by the Ministry of Justice to ensure the correct fees are in place.

How does this impact the legal sector?

These Amendments will reduce the fees for a variety of services in the Family Court systems. It is estimated that HMCTS’s fee income will be reduced by up to £1.6 million per annum. These fee changes will stand until the Ministry of Justices conducts its next review of these fees against cost and senior governance oversight.