11 June 2008
Justice Minister Bridget Prentice has made a written ministerial statement on the government's response to a consultation on public law family fees.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Bridget Prentice):
The Ministry of Justice has published the response to the consultation paper public law family fees (CP 32/07).
The consultation paper invited comments concerning specific proposals to increase court fees for Public Law Children Act and adoption proceedings.
Views were sought on how fees could be structured in relation to care proceedings. The options discussed were:
- a single full fee payable at issue
- variable application fee based on quality of preparation - this option reflecting a recommendation of the Review of the Child Care Proceedings system in England and Wales, published in May 2006
- three fees payable at successive stages of a case (based on the new 'Public Law Outline' procedure introduced in April 2008)
Copies of the response paper have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and can also be obtained on the department's website.