Court of Protection – A First for Change
The Court of Protection has just seen its first reform since its formation as we now know it in 2007. Although partially implemented in April 2015, The Court of Protection (Amendment) Rules 2015 came fully into force on 1 July 2015 and provide changes to the Court of Protection Rules 2007.
The most significant change seen is the Court of Protection’s requirement to consider (either on its own initiative or on application) whether it should make directions relating to the Patient’s participation in proceedings. These directions, intended to ensure that P’s participation is best ensured, according to the new rule 3A include: P being a party; P’s participation being secured by the appointment of an accredited legal representative to represent P and give a voice to wishes and feelings; P’s participation being secured by the appointment of a representative whose function shall be to provide the court with information as to the matters set out in section 4(6) of the Act and to discharge such other functions as the court may direct; P having the opportunity to address (directly or indirectly) the judge determining the application; alternate or no direction if P’s interests can be properly secured. This new rule shows a significant shift towards emphasising P’s involvement whereas previously it was far less explicitly incorporated in fact P was not to be a party unless the Court ordered it so. (It should be noted Rule 3A is also supplemented by Practice Direction 2A)
Another change to note on a more practical level is the provision of brand new forms available on the HMCTS website and the move from a requirement for separate permission forms to be lodged where permission is required. This can be seen at Rule 10 with the removal of the old paragraph 10(1)(a).
The full 2015 document can be found here and a rundown of all changes with commentary by Barrister and writer Alex Ruck Keene can be found here.
As far as the costs world is concerned – this remains largely unaffected as amendments to Part 19 are there to provide a ‘refresh’ of wording and refer CPR incorporations to those updated by LASPO in 2012.
If you require assistance with any Court of Protection billing we have a bank of experts at John M Hayes who can help. Get in touch by phoning T: 0370 300 3780 or e-mail us here.
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