The Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order revokes and consolidates the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/3121) as amended. It specifies the fees payable in relation to civil proceedings in the Supreme Court and in county courts. In addition to minor and drafting amendments, this Order also makes the following changes of substance—

Fee 1.4 is amended to clarify the fee where proceedings for the recovery of land are started in a county court rather than using the Possession Claims Online service.

Fee 2.9 is amended to clarify that this fee applies to an application to suspend a warrant of possession.

Fee 3 is amended to include applications made under the Companies Act 2006 (c.46).

The note to fee 8.10 is amended to reflect the amendments made to Part 75 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (S.I. 1998/3132) so as to provide for witness statements instead of statutory declarations to be filed with the court in enforcement proceedings relating to parking contraventions, where permitted by any enactment.

In Schedule 2, the definition of “child” in paragraph 1(1) is amended so as to include any qualifying young person in respect of whom child benefit is paid to a party under regulations made under section 142 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992. In paragraph 1(2) it is clarified that paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Schedule 2 (full and part remission of fees) only apply to a party who is not in receipt of funding provided by the LSC for the purposes of the proceedings and for which a certificate has been issued under the Funding Code.

Paragraph 3, which sets out the gross annual income, having regard to the number of children that the party has, for the purposes of determining whether a fee is payable by a party under the Order, is amended so as to increase the amount allowable for each child from £2470 to £2735.

Paragraph 5(3), which makes provision for the calculation of a party's disposable monthly income, is amended so as to increase the amounts that may be deducted from a party's gross monthly income for living expenses. The amount that a party may deduct rises from £279 to £296, the amount for each child of the party rises from £198 to £228 and the amount that may be deducted if the party has a partner rises from £142 to £150.

An impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business is available on the Ministry of Justice's website at www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp3207.htm.