If the Costs Officer disallows an item that the professional deputy feels is properly chargeable as work relating to property and affairs, he or she should raise this on review of the provisional assessment. Neither the court nor the OPG can intervene in the assessment process since this function is reserved to the SCCO by virtue of the Court of Protection rules.

On occasions, some activity which does not relate to P’s property and affairs, such as visits to clients or attendances at case conferences, may be necessary in order to safeguard P’s property. In such cases, the Costs Officer may accept well founded arguments that such general management costs should be allowed on assessment. If the circumstances of the case are unusual and require the deputy to be actively involved in the management of P’s day to day affairs, then the deputy should draw this to the Costs Officer’s attention in a covering letter submitted with the bill. The Costs Officer would also expect that any deputyship work, be it legal or non-legal, be undertaken by an appropriate grade of fee earner in the firm which may not necessarily be a deputy.

Extract from the Senior Courts Costs Office Guide 2018