Citation and commencement

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Family Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2009.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3), this Order comes into force on 13th July 2009.

(3) Article 5 comes into force on 1st September 2009.

Amendment of the Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008

2.  The Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008(2) is amended as follows.

3.  In Schedule 1, in fee 1.6, in column 2, for “£30” substitute “£40”.

4.  In Schedule 1, in fee 2.1, for “C78” substitute “C79”.

5.  In Schedule 1, after fee 2.1(a), insert —

6.  In Schedule 1, in fee 2.2 —

(a)in fee 2.2 (b) omit “at least 14 days before the day on which that hearing is listed”;

(b)in fee 2.2 (c) omit “at least 14 days before the day on which the final hearing is listed”;

(c)at the end of the notes to fee 2.2, insert “The fee in 2.2(b) and (c) is payable 14 days before the hearing or review.”.

7.  In Schedule 1, in fee 4.1, in the description, omit “for an order”.

8.  In Schedule 1, after 4.1 insert —

9.  In Schedule 1, in fee 6.1, in column 2, for “£40” substitute “£60”.

10.  In Schedule 1, in fee 7.1 —

(a)in fee 7.1(a), at the end of the description, insert “and”;

(b)for the note to fee 7.1, substitute —

11.  In Schedule 1, in fee 8.4, in column 2, for “£100” substitute “£200”.

12.  In Schedule 1, in fee 8.5, in column 2, for “£30” substitute “£50”.

13.  In Schedule 1, in fee 8.6, in column 2, for “£60” substitute “£100”.

14.  In Schedule 1, in fee 10.1, in column 2, for “£30” substitute “£100”.

15.  In Schedule 1, in fee 11.1 —

(a)in the description, omit “(a) where the amount for which the warrant issues does not exceed £125;” and “(b) where the amount for which the warrant issues exceeds £125.”;

(b)In column 2, omit “£35” and “£55” and substitute “£100”.

16.  In Schedule 1, omit fees 11.3, 11.4(a), 11.4(b), 11.5, 13.2, 13.3(a), 13.3(b) and 13.4.

17.  In Schedule 1, omit the notes to fees 11.4(a), 11.4(b), 13.3(a) and 13.3(b).

18.  In Schedule 1, after fee 9.2, insert —

19.  In Schedule 1, in fee 11.7, in column 2, for “£65” substitute “£100”.

20.  In Schedule 1, in fee 13.1, in column 2, for “£30” substitute “£50”.

21.  In Schedule 1, in fee 13.5, in column 2, for “£30” substitute “£50”.

22.  In paragraph 1(1)(c) of Schedule 2, for “626” substitute “26”.

23.  In paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2, in column 2 —

(a)for “£12,000” substitute “£13,000”;

(b)for “£14,735” substitute “£15,930”;

(c)for “£17,470” substitute “£18,860”;

(d)for “£20,205” substitute “£21,790”; and

(e)for “£22,940” substitute “£24,720”.

24.  In paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2, in column 3 —

(a)for “£16,000” substitute “£18,000”;

(b)for “£18,735” substitute “£20,930”;

(c)for “£21,470” substitute “£23,860”;

(d)for “£24,205” substitute “£26,790”; and

(e)for “£26,940” substitute “£29,720”.

25.  In paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 2, for “£2,735” substitute “£2,930”.

26.  In paragraph 5(3) of Schedule 2 —

(a)in sub-paragraph (a), for “£296” substitute “£315”;

(b)in sub-paragraph(b), for “£228” substitute “£244”; and

(c)in sub-paragraph (c), for “£150” substitute “£159”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008 (S.I.2008/1054 (L.6)). In this explanatory note “old fee number” and “old fee” refer to the relevant fee numbers and fees in the Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008. “New fee number” and “new fee” refer to the relevant fee numbers and fees as amended by this Order. This Order makes the following changes of substance.

(a)It increases some of the fees in Schedule 1 to the 2008 Order. Except as shown below, the fee increases are indicated in the body of the Order.

(b)Article 5 inserts a new sub-paragraph into fee 2.1 to take account of amendments to the Children Act 1989 by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c.22). The insertion made by Article 5 will come into force on 1^st September 2009.

(c)Article 15 amends fee 11.1. The fee payable for the issue of a warrant of execution against goods no longer depends on the amount for which the warrant is issued. The previous fees are replaced by a single fee of £100.

(d)Articles 16 and 17 remove the separate enforcement fees for the county court and the High Court, which are replaced, in article 18, by a common fee for both jurisdictions.

(e)The table below shows the fee increases.

(f)Articles 23 to 25 increase the figures for gross annual income in paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 which are used to determine whether a party is eligible for fee remission.

(g)Article 26 increases 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 £296 to £315. The amount for each child of the party rises from £228 to £244 and the amount that may be deducted if the party has a partner rises from £150 to £159.

A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available at http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/civil-court-fees-2008-consultation-paper-cp31-08.pdf