1. Civil Case Management Disbursement Training for non bill assessors

2. 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

3. 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.

4. Types of Disbursements The variety of disbursements that can be incurred is enormous, however they must have context within the proceedings. They may include: o Barristers fees. o Experts Fees. o Court Fees. o Travel Expenses. o Interpreter Fees

5. Overheads & Administrative Disbursements do not include costs which are considered to form part of the administrative overheads: o Photocopying in-house* o Courier fees* o Postage o Stationary o Faxes o Scanning o Typing o This is not an exhaustive list o There are exceptions*

6. 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.

7. 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 time o Is the time claimed reasonable and proportionate? o Should the fees be apportioned?

8. 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.

9. 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 8

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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 o Number of parties o Children and their vulnerability o Mental health problems o Cultural or language factors

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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 required o A court order specifies that it is required and o Work is being done that is over and above that requiring independent social work expertise and o A report is specifically required to address the risk

18. 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

19. 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: o Outside London: Up to £85 per hour o In 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

20. Travel and Subsistence Rates Standard Mileage Rate45 pence per mile Public Transport Mileage Rate25 pence per mile Train TravelStandard 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

21. 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: o Loss of income o Travel expenses o Hotel expenses o Subsistence. These are subject to the principles of reasonableness and evidence requirements.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. Evidence Requirements Payment on AccountBill 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 FeesVoucher or copy of ledger detailing payment

26. Cost Assessmen t Guidance Other Guidance Requirement for voucher over £203.1 What disbursements can be incurred 3.2Funding code criterion 1.3 Fee earner travel Costs3.10 – 3.21 Funded client travel costs3.22 – 3.31 Photocopying3.36 – 3.38 Experts Fees3.39 - 3.47CLS (funding) order 2007 Part 14 Payment Annex 6.62 Contract Specification Admin charges and cancellation fees 3.444.24 contract specification