Tuesday 12 Feb 2008 @ 16:40
Scottish Government
Scottish Government
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Scottish Court Service
Proposals to reduce and more fairly distribute public subsidies to Scotland's court services were published for consultation today.
The Scottish Court Service (SCS) is proposing to increase civil court and Public Guardian fees in order to reduce substantially the amount of public subsidy for these services and to try to distribute the subsidy more fairly between the Court of Session, Sheriff Courts and Office of the Public Guardian.
The SCS is today launching a consultation on its proposed fee increases. Respondents are invited to give views on the proposals for distribution of subsidy, on future inflation increases and on the fairness of the system of fee exemptions.
SCS Chief Executive Eleanor Emberson said:
"Raising fees is never going to be universally welcomed, but we have a responsibility to tackle the very low fee recovery rate in Scotland - at 53 per cent it is the lowest in the UK.
"Taxpayers are subsidising the running of our civil courts and Office of the Public Guardian by £13 million a year, and this is money which could be better used elsewhere - for instance, for police or healthcare.
"In order to maintain levels of funding for other vital public services, the SCS budget has been set at a level which assumes we will increase our fee income.
"We do have choices about how far we subsidise different parts of the business and what criteria we use for fee exemptions, but it is not a realistic option for us to maintain the current fee levels.
"During this consultation we do want to hear views and suggestions from people with an interest, so we can review our proposals before Fees Orders are presented to the Parliament's Justice Committee.
"Our proposals involve larger percentage increases for fees in the Court of Session, which has had a disproportionately high level of subsidy to date - around two-thirds of the costs are not covered by the fees charged.
"Consequently this would mean a lower fee increase for services provided by the Public Guardian, including registering Powers of Attorney and Guardianships."
The consultation document, Review of Fees Charged by the Court of Session, Sheriff Courts, Office of the Public Guardian, Accountant of Court and High Court, is published today. Responses to the consultation are invited by May 6, 2008.
The current level of public subsidy represented by fees is, on average, 47 per cent. This level of subsidy is greatest in the Court of Session where two-thirds of the cost falls to the public purse. The Scottish Court Service proposes by increasing fees to reduce the average subsidy to a target of 22 per cent by 2011.
If the proposals are accepted, SCS income through fees would increase by £6 million, enabling the Court Service to continue to offer the current level of quality and service to court users and the Office of the Public Guardian.
One of the key questions in the consultation is to seek ways of improving the fairness of the system of exemptions while avoiding further bureaucracy and ensuring these exemptions are well understood.
The cost of fees levied range from document-copying charges right up to fees for Inner House Hearings at the Court of Session. As an example, the fee proposed for an Inner House Hearing at the Court of Appeal, the highest court of civil appeal, involving three of the most senior judges is £148 per hour. It is proposed to increase this to £400. These costs are split between both parties involved.
The consultation closes on the May 6, 2008. All responses will then be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help the Scottish Court Service to reach a decision on the way forward. A report on this consultation process will be produced by May 23, 2008 and the Scottish Courts website.
Related Information
The Scottish Court Service (SCS) is proposing to increase civil court and Public Guardian fees in order to reduce substantially the amount of public subsidy for these services and to try to distribute the subsidy more fairly between the Court of Session, Sheriff Courts and Office of the Public Guardian.
The SCS is today launching a consultation on its proposed fee increases. Respondents are invited to give views on the proposals for distribution of subsidy, on future inflation increases and on the fairness of the system of fee exemptions.
SCS Chief Executive Eleanor Emberson said:
"Raising fees is never going to be universally welcomed, but we have a responsibility to tackle the very low fee recovery rate in Scotland - at 53 per cent it is the lowest in the UK.
"Taxpayers are subsidising the running of our civil courts and Office of the Public Guardian by £13 million a year, and this is money which could be better used elsewhere - for instance, for police or healthcare.
"In order to maintain levels of funding for other vital public services, the SCS budget has been set at a level which assumes we will increase our fee income.
"We do have choices about how far we subsidise different parts of the business and what criteria we use for fee exemptions, but it is not a realistic option for us to maintain the current fee levels.
"During this consultation we do want to hear views and suggestions from people with an interest, so we can review our proposals before Fees Orders are presented to the Parliament's Justice Committee.
"Our proposals involve larger percentage increases for fees in the Court of Session, which has had a disproportionately high level of subsidy to date - around two-thirds of the costs are not covered by the fees charged.
"Consequently this would mean a lower fee increase for services provided by the Public Guardian, including registering Powers of Attorney and Guardianships."
The consultation document, Review of Fees Charged by the Court of Session, Sheriff Courts, Office of the Public Guardian, Accountant of Court and High Court, is published today. Responses to the consultation are invited by May 6, 2008.
The current level of public subsidy represented by fees is, on average, 47 per cent. This level of subsidy is greatest in the Court of Session where two-thirds of the cost falls to the public purse. The Scottish Court Service proposes by increasing fees to reduce the average subsidy to a target of 22 per cent by 2011.
If the proposals are accepted, SCS income through fees would increase by £6 million, enabling the Court Service to continue to offer the current level of quality and service to court users and the Office of the Public Guardian.
One of the key questions in the consultation is to seek ways of improving the fairness of the system of exemptions while avoiding further bureaucracy and ensuring these exemptions are well understood.
The cost of fees levied range from document-copying charges right up to fees for Inner House Hearings at the Court of Session. As an example, the fee proposed for an Inner House Hearing at the Court of Appeal, the highest court of civil appeal, involving three of the most senior judges is £148 per hour. It is proposed to increase this to £400. These costs are split between both parties involved.
The consultation closes on the May 6, 2008. All responses will then be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help the Scottish Court Service to reach a decision on the way forward. A report on this consultation process will be produced by May 23, 2008 and the Scottish Courts website.
Related Information
http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/CourtFees/Fee_Review_Consultation.pdf
