Background Part 2: Courts and Justice Section 28: Disclosure of information for calculating fees of courts, tribunals etc
44.In line with chapter 6 ‘Fees, Charges and Levies’ of HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money(18), HMCTS, the UK Supreme Court and the Public Guardian charge fees for the services they provide. To help individuals of limited financial means to gain access to these services, HMCTS, the UK Supreme Court and the Public Guardian operate fee remission systems for their users. For example, the Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008(19) sets out the fees payable in civil proceedings (Schedule 1) and the accompanying remission system for those fees (Schedule 2).
45.Currently, to qualify for certain fee remissions an individual must supply HMCTS, the UK Supreme Court or the Public Guardian with a completed application form and up-to-date hard copy proof of state benefit entitlement, issued by either the Department for Work and Pensions (“DWP”) or Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”) confirming which benefit they receive. Failure to provide evidence can result in the application being refused.
46.To streamline the fee remission process, section 28 allows HMCTS, the UK Supreme Court and the Public Guardian to obtain certain information from the DWP, HMRC or a Northern Ireland Department in order to determine whether an individual qualifies for a fee remission. The Government intends that ultimately the information will, in most cases, be disclosed via a shared IT database. This data gateway therefore removes the need for an individual to supply a hard copy of their benefit entitlement notice in order to satisfy their entitlement for certain fee remissions.