Civil Case Management

Disbursement Training for non bill assessors

Disbursements

• These are sums paid out by the solicitor in connection with

the conduct of the particular case (as opposed to those

which could benefit any of his cases).

• Each and every disbursement must first have been

reasonable to incur and secondly reasonable in it’s amount.

• Guidance on disbursements can be found in section 3 of the

civil costs assessment manual.

• http://www.justice.gov.uk/legal-aid/funding

Evidence Requirements

• Invoices or receipts must be provided in respect of any

disbursement of £20 or more (inclusive of VAT).

• Where the nature of the disbursement, court fees and

mileage, is such that no invoice or receipt is available, this

should be evidenced by a note on file to this effect.

• The Claim form provides for a schedule of the disbursements

incurred, and these must be cross referenced against the

invoice or receipt received, and retained with the bill on

payment.

Types of Disbursements

• The variety of disbursements that can be incurred is

enormous, however they must have context within the

proceedings.

• They may include:

oBarristers fees.

oExperts Fees.

oCourt Fees.

oTravel Expenses.

oInterpreter Fees

Overheads & Administrative

• Disbursements do not include costs which are considered to form part of the administrative overheads:

oPhotocopying in-house*oCourier fees*oPostageoStationaryoFaxesoScanning oTypingoThis is not an exhaustive listoThere are exceptions*

Prior Authority

• You must consider whether the solicitor sought a prior

authority before incurring a disbursement.

• If an authority was sought and granted then the

disbursement should not be disallowed on assessment

(although the cost limits on the certificate can not be

exceeded).

• If no prior authority was sought or if prior authority was

sought and refused the decision is whether it was reasonable

to incur the disbursement.

• Prior authorities to exceed the set rates on certificates

granted after 03/10/2011 are dealt with by our Cardiff office.

Reasonableness

• All disbursements are subject to an assessment of whether

these costs are considered reasonable.

• This decision will be made on assessment by the court or the

LAA

• Factors that may be considered on assessment are:o What is it’s purpose and importance to the case? o Are all the elements of the service justified in the

particular case and at the particular timeo Is the time claimed reasonable and proportionate?o Should the fees be apportioned?

Rates• Historically there were no prescribed rates for the various

disbursements that might be incurred.

• For certificates granted post 03/10/11 prescribed rates were

introduced for some types of disbursements

• There were some rate changes on London/Non London rates

and in respect of surveyors for certificates granted post

01/04/13

• These rates are mandatory and disbursements must be

checked to ensure that they have been applied.

• These rates can only be exceeded where a prior

authority has been granted

• If the rate has been exceeded and no prior authority

authorised the claim must be returned to the provider.

• Where an expert is not listed the LAA or the court will

assess the rate payable on assessment of the claim

• Guidance and rates can be found on the website

9

London and Non London Rates

• There are some rate differences between London and Non

London based experts

• London rates are payable when the expert is based within a

London borough

• You can enter their postcode or address in the following link

to determine whether they are based in a London borough

• http://local.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/Start.do?mode=1

• The rate payable is based on the registered office of the

expert

• Where the expert has more than one office the office closest

to the client or provider should be used to determine the rate

Other Experts

• No cancellation fee is payable for an expert where the

hearing or appointment was cancelled more than 72 hours in

advance

• Travel time rates capped at £40 per hour.

• The rate payable for travel should never be more than the

hourly rate charged

• Mileage limited to 45p per mile

• No separate payment for administration costs such as typing,

consulting room or courier fees

Reasonableness – Time Spent

• There are no set times for expert reports in terms of what is

reasonable

• The factors that might influence the time spent are

oNumber of parties

oChildren and their vulnerability

oMental health problems

oCultural or language factors

Drug and Alcohol Testing

• There are no hourly rates for drug and alcohol testing

• These tests will normally arise by order of the court and

frequently in residence/contact and care cases

• Administrative support services cannot be paid – this

includes split invoicing fees

DNA testing

• There are codified rates

• The funding order sets out a rate of £315 for the testing of a

mother, father and child.

• An additional £90 can be claimed for reporting

• If further children are required to be tested a further fee of

£133 can be charged

• If there are a number of alleged fathers each father and

child/children tested would constitute a separate test.

Independent Social Workers

• Independent social workers in family cases are paid at the

Cafcass / Cafcass Cymru rates of £30 p/h outside London

and £33 in London

• This was introduced on 09/05/11 and is confirmed in the

contract

• There is no provision to pay in excess of these amounts in

family cases

• There are no set rates for independent social workers in non

family rates.

• Social Work Assessments outside of England and Wales are

out of scope of funding from 09/05/11

Psychotherapists

• There are no codified rates for psychotherapists

• Checks should be made that:

o The work undertaken is in scope

o That the work does not include any therapy as this is

specifically excluded

Risk Assessments

• Where an expert with a social work qualification is providing

specialist risk assessment services the rate is £63 per hour

• The following factors could point to a risk assessment being

requiredo A court order specifies that it is required ando Work is being done that is over and above that requiring

independent social work expertise ando A report is specifically required to address the risk

Multi Discipline Reports

• Where a multi disciplinary report is required consideration

must be given to the experts who undertake the work

• Each experts rate should be applied to the work they have

undertaken – the same rate should not be applied across the

report

Surveyor Fees

• There are set rates for property valuation. This work can be

claimed at £50 per hour

• Where a surveyor undertaking an investigation and

diagnostic survey of a property in a housing disrepair matter

meets the exceptionality criteria set out in the funding order,

then the following rates should usually apply:

oOutside London: Up to £85 per hour

oIn London:  Up to £115 per hour

• These rates were codified for certificates issued on/after

01/04/2013. For certificates issued prior to that an

application for prior authority must be made 

Travel and Subsistence Rates

Standard Mileage Rate 45 pence per mile

Public Transport Mileage Rate 25 pence per mile

Train Travel Standard fares only

Overnight hotel (London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle uponTyne)

£85.25 per night

Overnight hotel (all other areas) £55.25 per night

Overnight (other than hotel) £25

Night subsistence allowance £21 per night

Personal Incidental allowance £5 per night

Funded Client & Witness Travel Costs

• The funded client, or any witness attending court on their

behalf, is entitled to recover their expenses for doing so.

• These may include:

oLoss of income

oTravel expenses

oHotel expenses

oSubsistence.

• These are subject to the principles of reasonableness

and evidence requirements.

Other Client Travel

• The Commission may also be required to pay the funded

client’s travel costs to attend upon experts however the

solicitors will have to show that:

o The client was impecunious, and

o Travelling to the expert was necessary in order to make or

keep the case viable.

Children Act Proceedings

• Residential assessments and any costs of treatment, therapy

or training are out of scope

• This is confirmed in the contract and 1.3 of the funding code

criteria

• This is because the costs of such an assessment should be

borne fully by the local authority involved in the proceedings,

as part of the assessment in the case or the care plan.

• Since April 2009 the costs of or expenses relating to any

activity to promote contact with a child directed by the court

under Section 11A to 11G Children Act 1989 will not be

recoverable under a funding Certificate.

Who Pays?

• Disbursements should be appropriately apportioned between

parties (whether publicly funded or not) where that is

reasonable, with or without the leave of the court.

• This is so that the Fund does not bear a disproportionate

share of the total expense. However, if the court makes an

order for equal apportionment of the costs, the Commission

will follow that order

• Where there are linked certificates checks should be made

that costs are apportioned appropriately.

Evidence Requirements

Payment on Account Bill

Disbursement (unless specified below)

•Voucher for any disbursement over £20 (including VAT)•Voucher should contain breakdown of work undertaken and hourly rate

•Voucher for any disbursement over £20 (including VAT)•Voucher should contain breakdown of work undertaken and hourly rate•Schedule of disbursements to be provided

Drug and alcohol testing

•Invoice is required (no requirement for hourly rates)•Check POA matches invoice

•Invoice required with details of work undertaken•Court Order detailing what is to be tested

Court Fees •Voucher or copy of ledger detailing payment

•Voucher or copy of ledger detailing payment

Cost Assessment Guidance

Other Guidance

Requirement for voucher over £20 3.1

What disbursements can be incurred

3.2 Funding code criterion 1.3

Fee earner travel Costs 3.10 – 3.21

Funded client travel costs 3.22 – 3.31

Photocopying 3.36 – 3.38

Experts Fees 3.39 - 3.47 CLS (funding) order 2007Part 14 Payment Annex6.62 Contract Specification

Admin charges and cancellation fees

3.44 4.24 contract specification