Author: Martin Terrell
Delays at the Court of Protection continue to cause concern for members, and it is some consolation that the Senior Judge, other judges and court staff are aware of this. The User Group on 19 October was particularly well attended. We continue to press for clarity as to how it can take so long for an order to be issued, after it has been made, and one day this might be understood. In the meantime, judicial statistics show a steady increase in MCA applications although a slight long term reduction in applications for appointment of deputies. Nevertheless, applications in the first half of this year remain consistently hight at 3,500 per quarter. That is still an impressive number of cases being dealt with (an average of at least 50 applications each day).
Martin Terrell, PDF Chair.
While paper-based applications continue to take their time, members report positively that electronic applications under the ‘pilot’ scheme are working very well. We do not know how long the ‘pilot’ will continue as this depends on resources being available so it can be made available to all applicants. It is likely that before this, forms and rules will be amended to allow for pre-notification of P and other persons, whether the application is dealt with on paper or electronically. The Rules Committee is also looking at changes to Practice Direction 19B to deal with fixed costs, to clarify their application for conveyancing and also to see an increase in application and general management costs. A meeting is also due to take place early in the New Year with the Court Manager to discuss practical issues and concerns and to see what more we can do to make better applications. We go on doing what we can to help the Court to help us and our clients.
The latest COP Statistics for October 2022 can be read here.
The latest Court User Group Meeting Minutes can also be read here.