Tag: Ministry of Justice

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 12 March 2025.

Greater use of AI and technology in legal services will spur economic growth thanks to a new Government investment as part of the Plan for Change today (12 March 2025).

Greater use of AI and technology in legal services will spur economic growth thanks to a new Government investment as part of the Plan for Change today (12 March 2025).

The £1.5m funding boost announced by Justice Minister Sarah Sackman will help further the UK’s leading position in the international legal services market.

In a speech to legal professionals she announced the LawtechUK programme will receive a £1.5m investment which will help startups to attract further private investment.

Since 2023, LawtechUK has directly supported over 176 startups to grow and the legal services sector is now estimated to provide over 300,000 jobs in the UK. Their activity connects businesses with investors, builds relationships between technology companies and law firms, and offers showcasing opportunities at key international and domestic events.

One recent example is Lexverify which created an advanced AI tool that helps saves lawyers time and money by providing real-time risk prevention for legal, compliance, and cybersecurity issues.

Courts and Legal Services Minister, Sarah Sackman KC MP, said:

Britain is leading the world in Lawtech. We are innovating and making legal services faster, cheaper and more accessible. Our Lawtech sector is changing how we work, and opening up access to justice for working people, at lower costs.

Lawtech is powering the future of the UK economy by helping people resolve disputes faster.

Lawtech UK is a government-backed initiative to drive digital transformation in the legal services industry, which is already worth £37 billion to the UK economy every year.

Since 2019, £6 million has been invested in the programme, supporting the lawtech sector’s rapid growth as it attracts record private investment of over £139 million and transforms how legal services are delivered. Another LawTechUK beneficiary, Office and Dragons, developed software that eliminates wasted time on repetitive legal tasks, achieving over 85%-time savings on administrative work.

Over half of the participants in LawtechUK’s education programmes come from outside London and the South-East, ensuring the benefits of legal technology reach across the country.

The Ministry of Justice also delivers the GREAT Legal Services campaign which promotes the strength of UK legal services and the UK as a legal centre to the global market.

The campaign showcases UK lawtech companies internationally and helps build relationships with potential business partners. It has taken delegations of UK firms to take part in events in the US, Australia and Singapore, and will be returning to the US later this month for a programme of activity around the Legalweek conference in New York and Chicago.

Since April 1, 2023, LawTechUK has been delivered by CodeBase and Legal Geek.

Jon Hope, SVP at CodeBase, said:

Building on the success of the past two years, we are excited to extend LawtechUK into its third year.

Together with our delivery partners, Legal Geek, we remain committed to driving innovation and transformation in the legal industry.

We are proud of the impact LawtechUK has already made and look forward to continuing to shape the future of the legal sector.

Beth Fellner, Director at Legal Geek, said:

Legal Geek and our delivery partner, CodeBase, have delivered a high impact programme of activity over the last two years.

We are ready to build on this work during a third year and continue to drive digital transformation in the legal sector across the UK.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 7 March 2025.

More dangerous criminals will be taken off the streets thanks to a 700-place expansion which will turn a Suffolk jail into the UK’s largest public sector prison.

The three new, four-storey houseblocks at HMP Highpoint will boost its capacity by more than 50 percent– and is the latest step in Government action to create safer streets.

The houseblocks will include innovative workshops and teaching facilities to train prisoners with skills to secure a job on release and turn their backs on crime for good. The new cells will be fully operational by summer 2027.

The construction is a significant milestone in the Government’s plan to deliver 14,000 more prison places by 2031 to lock up dangerous offenders and keep the public safe.

Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Lord James Timpson said:

This government is fixing the broken prison system it inherited – wasting no time in getting shovels in the ground to deliver the spaces needed to protect the public.

These new houseblocks have been designed with a laser-focus on cutting crime and are a major step in our plan to deliver 14,000 more prison places by 2031.

But we cannot simply build our way out of this crisis, which is why we’re also reviewing sentencing so we can lock up dangerous offenders, cut crime and make our streets safer.

HMP Highpoint Prison Governor Nigel Smith said:

The expansion at Highpoint will provide much-needed prisoner places in our region.

The new accommodation will provide a safe and secure environment for us to rehabilitate prisoners and get them ready for release.

We are pleased that the construction work has officially begun and we look forward to working with our contractors to get things delivered.

The build will be delivered by Wates Group, a leading family-owned development, building and property maintenance company. Once completed Highpoint will be the largest public sector prison in terms of land size in North-West Europe and the largest in the UK based on prisoner population.

It will help provide an economic boost to East Anglia with hundreds of jobs created during construction and over 200 permanent jobs at the prison once built. Construction alone will bring investment into local businesses with 30% of materials/subcontractors coming from within a 50-mile radius.

Phil Shortman, Regional Managing Director at Wates said:

We are proud to be involved in the major programme of delivering much-needed prison spaces.

Through the construction of this project, around 2,000 building components have been crafted in prison workshops, providing meaningful employment opportunities, helping develop valuable skills and supporting brighter futures.

We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the government delivering additional prison capacity with a focus on rehabilitation, sustainability and social value for the local community.

The development is part of the government’s 10-year prison capacity strategy published in December. It includes 6,400 places through new houseblocks and 6,500 places via new prisons. One thousand rapid deployment cells will be rolled out across the estate while more than 1,000 existing cells will be refurbished.

A 1,500-capacity prison in Yorkshire, HMP Millsike, will be opened in the coming weeks. The government is investing £2.3 billion to deliver these prison builds, while a further £500 million will go towards vital building maintenance across prisons and the probation service.

The strategy will work alongside the Independent Sentencing Review to ensure the most serious offenders can always be sent to prison to protect the public.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 5 March 2025.

Victims will receive swifter justice as the Government announces record funding for the Crown Court. New investment will see the courts sitting at the highest allocation since records began as part of its Plan for Change to make streets safer.

The Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, confirmed today (Wednesday, 5 March) that Crown Court judges will sit for a collective 110,000 days in the next financial year – 4,000 more than was initially allocated the previous year.

The increase will mean more hearings at the Crown Court in the coming year, helping victims see justice faster than they otherwise would have done, and is part of the Government’s decisive action to repair the justice system it inherited and improve the experience of victims. However, more radical change is needed to stop the backlog of cases continuing to increase.

Sir Brian Leveson is midway through a review commissioned by the Lord Chancellor to consider bold and ambitious reforms to address the ongoing crisis in the courts.  The court backlog has grown significantly since the pandemic and reached a record high of 73,000 in the year ending September 2024.

Only reform to how the criminal courts operate can bring that number down. This is part of the Government’s wider work, including the Independent Sentencing Review, to restore confidence in the justice system and put it on a more sustainable footing after inheriting a prison estate on the point of collapse.

The increase comes as the Government also boosts court maintenance and building funding from £120 million last year to £148.5 million this year. The increase will fund vital repairs across the court and tribunal estate.

The announcement will also boost the number of days the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal will be sitting to near maximum capacity, helping to speed up asylum claims. The builds on the Government’s work to restore order to the immigration system so that every part – border security, case processing, appeals and returns – operates efficiently.

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Shabana Mahmood, said:

This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog, with justice delayed and denied for far too many victims. Bearing down on that backlog is an essential element of our Plan for Change, bringing offenders to justice to keep our streets safe.

Funding a record number of sitting days is a critical first step. But there is more that we must and we will do. I have asked Sir Brian Leveson to consider radical reforms to deliver the swifter justice that victims deserve.

The investment in court maintenance and capital projects will help fund security improvements and fix leaking roofs and out-of-order lifts. Repairs includes the RAAC remedial works at Harrow Crown Court – bringing back into operation an entire court, with eight courtrooms, that has been closed since August 2023.

The boost in capital funding will also help fund the next generation of court buildings across the country. Some of the projects which will receive funding as a result include the new 30-hearing room tribunal centre being built at Newgate Street in London, the 18-hearing rooms at the City of London Courts, and a County and Family Court in Reading.

Minister for Courts and Legal Services, Sarah Sackman KC, said:

The crumbling state of the courtrooms we inherited illustrate why public confidence in our justice system has ebbed away. That is why we’re boosting funding for vital repair work so our courts are, once again, fit for purpose, safe and welcoming places.

This money will also help ensure we maintain and increase court capacity so more trials and tribunals can take place.

At the end of last year, the Government launched a review of potential once-in-a-generation reform of the criminal court system to tackle the backlog. Sir Brian Leveson is conducting a review to identify major reforms which can help bring swifter justice for victims and reduce the backlog.

The plans form part of the Government’s commitment to safer streets by reducing the court backlog, speeding up hearings for victims and defendants, and rebuilding public confidence in the criminal justice system.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 4 March 2025.

Vulnerable girls sentenced to youth custody will no longer be placed in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs).

Ministers have acted immediately to end the practice of placing girls in young offender institutions following recommendations from Susannah Hancock’s independent review into the placement and care of girls in youth custody.

The review published today highlights the complex mental and physical health issues these girls often face, with self-harm at a concerning level.

It comes as recent figures show girls are involved in more than half the self-harm incidents across the youth estate in England and Wales, despite accounting for less than two percent of the children in custody.

The intervention will ensure girls are always placed in settings more suited to their needs such as Secure Schools or Secure Children’s Homes.

The decision was informed by feedback from hardworking staff and the vulnerable children in their care. The review found that despite tireless efforts of staff involved in their care, YOIs cannot offer the therapeutic, trauma-informed support these girls need.

Minister for Youth Justice Sir Nic Dakin said:

Girls in custody are often victims themselves with complex mental health and emotional needs.

Ending their placement in YOIs for good is a first step in drastically improving the support they receive to turn their lives around.

I am grateful to Susannah Hancock for her recommendations, and we will set out our response to each one in due course.

Girls have not been placed in HMYOI Wetherby, the only YOI accepting girls, for several months. This has now been made a permanent decision.

Susannah Hancock was appointed by the government in November 2024 to conduct an independent review into the placement of girls in the children and young people’s secure estate.

The report acknowledges the scope of the challenge at hand, and the department will now consider the full range of its recommendations and develop a long-term action plan in response.

Susannah Hancock said:

I am pleased that the government has acted swiftly in accepting the first recommendation in my review and that girls will no longer be placed in YOIs.

This is an important step forward towards ensuring that all girls in custody receive appropriate levels of support, care and therapeutic interventions to address their physical, mental health and emotional needs.

I look forward to hearing the government’s response to the wider review recommendations and to seeing professionals come together to help make positive changes for these girls.

Stephanie Roberts-Bibby, Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Board said:

We welcome the recommendations from Susannah Hancock’s independent review into girls in custody and we are pleased that the Minister has agreed to the immediate removal of girls in young offender institutions.

It is our position, informed by the evidence, that girls should only be placed in secure settings in exceptional circumstances, and when this happens, they should be held in places that are designed to meet their needs. Children in the youth justice system are overwhelmingly boys, and as a result girls’ needs and vulnerabilities can be overlooked, resulting in them encountering poorer experiences and outcomes.

The Youth Custody Service can place girls in different settings across the youth custody estate, including secure children’s homes, the new secure school and Oakhill Secure Training Centre. Girls were previously placed at HMYOI Wetherby following the closure of Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, but today’s decision removes this placement option permanently.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 3 March 2025.

Foreign national offenders (FNOs) will be deported quicker thanks to a new £5 million government investment in prisons across England and Wales.

Foreign national offenders (FNOs) will be deported quicker thanks to a new £5 million government investment in prisons across England and Wales.

The money will fund the deployment of specialist frontline staff to 80 jails with one clear mission – speeding up the removal of prisoners who have no right to be in this country.

The new crack squad will also support the Home Office to identify and manage those going through the immigration process, ensuring cases are progressed as quickly as possible.

FNOs make up around 12 percent of the total prison population and deporting them sooner will help save taxpayers’ millions while easing the capacity crisis inherited by the new government.

The move is expected to further bolster efforts which have seen 23 per cent more FNOs removed since July 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, James Timpson, said:

It cannot be right for British taxpayers to foot the bill for jailing foreign criminals who have brought misery to our communities.

Under this Government removals are up by nearly a quarter. We’re now taking action to ensure this is done swifter, easing pressure on overcrowded prisons and on the public purse.

This is part of our Plan for Change – fixing the broken prison system we inherited and keeping our streets safe.

The investment will create 82 specialist roles to oversee removals from jails. They will be in post and fully operational by 1 April.

Further information

• HM Prison and Probation Service work with the Home Office to remove thousands of FNOs via the Early Removal Scheme (where they can be deported up to 18 months before the end of their custodial sentence) and via transferring FNOs to serve their sentences in their home country
• Since July 2024, we have removed 2,580 foreign criminals, a 23 per cent increase on the same period 12 months prior

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 26 February 2025.

An update on upcoming increases to selected court and tribunal fees.

In early April 2025, and subject to parliamentary approval, the Ministry of Justice will increase 171 court and tribunal fees to account for changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The income generated from these uplifts will help to support the efficient and effective running of His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).

The department recovers a modest contribution towards the costs of providing HMCTS services from court and tribunal users, where they can afford to do so. The department has a history of increasing court and tribunal fees by inflation to ensure that fees keep pace with increased costs to HMCTS as a result of the general rise in prices, while at the same time minimising the cost to the taxpayer.

The majority of the 171 fees in scope will be increased by 3.2% to reflect the change in CPI between March 2023 and March 2024, with a small number of fees increased by 13.5% to reflect backdated inflation to March 2022. These fee increases are all rounded to the nearest pound. These fee changes will produce a significant level of additional funding that will go towards improving service delivery, subsidising the cost of related court and tribunal services for which we do not charge a fee, and reducing the overall cost to the taxpayer.

The Help with Fees remissions scheme remains available for those with lower financial means who are unable to afford a court or tribunal fee. More information on the scheme can be found on GOV.UK.

As well as increasing fees, the department will be reducing the value of a further 24 fees to ensure they remain aligned with the latest estimate of their underlying cost.

A full list of the fee changes, including the 171 to be increased and the 24 to be reduced, can be found in the table below. The government’s intention is for the changes to go live from 1 April for applications received by courts or tribunals on or after that date. Until then, the current fees will continue to apply.

Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008

SI Reference ID	Description	Current	New
1.4a	Recovery of Land (High Court)	£528	£545
1.4b	Recovery of Land (County Court)	£391	£404
1.5	Any other remedy (County Court)	£365	£377
1.5	Any other remedy (High Court)	£626	£646
1.6	Filing proceedings against an unnamed party	£65	£67
1.8a	Permission to issue proceedings	£65	£67
1.8b	Assessment of costs (under Part 3, Solicitors Act 1974)	£65	£67
1.9a	For permission to apply for judicial review	£169	£174
1.9b	On applying for a request to reconsider at a hearing a decision on permission	£424	£438
1.9ba	On an application for judicial review where fee 1.9(b) has been paid and permission is granted at a hearing	£385	£436
1.9c	Permission to proceed with judicial review if started with application for permission to apply for JR	£847	£874
1.9d	Permission to proceed with judicial review where started other than with permission to apply for JR	£169	£174
2.1a	Hearing fee: Multi track case	£1,175	£1,334
2.1b	Hearing fee: Fast track case	£545	£619
2.2	Appellant’s/respondent’s notice (High Court)	£285	£294
2.3a	Appellant’s/respondent’s notice (County court small claims)	£142	£147
2.3b	Appellant’s/respondent’s notice (County court other claims)	£166	£171
2.4(a)	General application (on notice) excluding Protection from Harassment Act 1997 & Court Fund Pay Out	£303	£313
2.4(b)	General application (on notice) Protection from Harassment Act 1997 & Court Fund Pay Out	£184	£190
2.5(a)	General application (by consent/without notice) excluding Protection from Harassment Act 1997 & Court Fund Pay Out	£119	£123
2.5(b)	General application (by consent/without notice) Protection from Harassment Act 1997 & Court Fund Pay Out	£59	£61
2.6	Application for summons or order for witness to attend court	£21	£4
2.8	Issue of a certificate of satisfaction	£15	£19
3.1b	Petition for bankruptcy (presented by creditor/other person)	£332	£343
3.4(a)	Request for a certificate of discharge from bankruptcy	£75	£22
3.7	Voluntary winding up fee	£50	£16
3.9	Submission of nominees report	£35	£11
3.11	Application within proceedings (by consent/without notice)	£29	£30
3.12	Application within insolvency proceedings (with notice, where no other fee is specified)	£109	£112
3.13	Search of bankruptcy and company records (County Court)	£45	£11
3.2	Petition for an administration order	£332	£343
3.3	Any other petition	£332	£343
3.5	Insolvency – other application	£308	£318
3.8	Notice of intention to appoint administrator	£55	£57
5.3	Issue of default costs certificate – Civil	£78	£80
5.4	Appeal (detailed assessment proceedings) – Civil	£274	£283
5.5	Request/application to set aside a default costs certificate	£143	£148
6.1	On the filing of a request for detailed assessment for Court of Protection	£96	£99
6.2	Appeal against a Court of Protection costs assessment decision	£77	£79
6.3	Request to set aside a default Court of Protection costs certificate	£72	£74
7.1	Sealing a writ of control/possession/delivery (High Court)	£78	£80
7.2	Order requiring a judgment debtor or other person to attend court	£65	£67
7.3a	Third party debt order or the appointment of a receiver by way of equitable execution	£131	£135
7.3b	Application for a charging order	£131	£135
7.4	Application for a judgment summons	£131	£135
7.5	Register a judgment or order, or for permission to enforce an arbitration award, or for a certificate or a certified copy of a judgment or order for use abroad	£78	£80
8.1	Issue warrant of control	£91	£94
8.2	Request for attempt of execution of a warrant at new address	£36	£37
8.3	Order requiring judgment debtor to attend court	£65	£67
8.4a	Application for a third party debt order	£131	£135
8.4b	Application for a charging order	£131	£135
8.5	Application for a judgment summons	£131	£135
8.6	Issue of a warrant of possession/warrant of delivery	£143	£148
8.7	Application for an attachment of earnings order – Civil	£131	£135
8.9	Application for enforcement of an award of a sum of money or any other decision made by any court, tribunal, body or person	£52	£54
8A.1	Service by a bailiff of an order to attend County Court for questioning	£131	£135
10.1	Bills of sale	£33	£34
10.4	Appointment of a High Court judge as arbitrator or umpire	£671	£692
10.5	Hearing before a High Court judge (per day or part day) as arbitrator or umpire	£671	£692
11.1	On the issue of a warrant for the arrest of a ship or goods	£20	£21
13.1a	Filing an appellant’s/respondent’s notice in the Court of Appeal where permission to appeal/extension of time is applied for	£626	£646
13.1b	Filing an appellant’s/respondent’s notice in the Court of Appeal where permission to appeal is not required or has been granted	£1,421	£1,466
13.1c	Court of Appeal – Appellant/respondent filing an appeal questionnaire	£1,421	£1,466
13.2	Court of Appeal – On filing a respondent’s notice	£569	£587
13.3	Court of Appeal – On filing an application notice	£626	£646

Magistrates’ Court Fees Order 2008

SI Reference ID	Description	Current	New
1.1	Application for a justice of the peace to perform function not on court premises	£28	£29
2.1	Application to state a case for the opinion of the High Court	£151	£156
2.2	Appeal (deduction from earnings order)	£21	£22
2.3	Appeal – proceedings under Schedule 5, Licensing Act 2003	£68	£70
2.4	Appeal (no other fee specified)	£68	£70
3.2	Request for a certificate of satisfaction	£18	£19
3.3	Request for a certified copy of a memorandum of conviction	£20	£15
3.4	Request for certificate/certified document (no fee specified)	£22	£23
4.2	Application for Child Support Liability Order	£25	£14
6.1	Request for licence/consent/authority (no other fee specified)	£30	£31
6.2	Application for renewal/variation of an existing licence	£30	£31
6.3	Application for the revocation of licence (no other fee specified)	£30	£31
7.2	For every oath (etc) where no other fee is specified	£30	£31
8.1	Commencing proceedings where no other fee is specified	£249	£284
8.2a	Application for leave/permission to commence proceedings (no other fee specified)	£138	£142
8.2b	Commencing proceedings where leave/permission has been granted	£138	£142
8.3	Contested hearing	£567	£644
9.2	Application for any other warrant (no other fee specified)	£89	£92
10.1	Application for a warrant of commitment (council tax proceedings)	£264	£212
10.2	Application for a warrant of commitment (Child Support Act 1991)	£45	£46

Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008

SI Reference ID	Description	Current	New
1.1	Originating proceedings where no other fee is specified	£270	£279
1.2	Application for a divorce, nullity or civil partnership dissolution	£593	£612
1.3	Application for matrimonial or civil partnership order	£402	£415
1.5	Amendment of application for matrimonial/civil partnership order	£95	£59
1.6	Answer to application for matrimonial/civil partnership order	£245	£234
1.7	On application for an order of assessment of costs	£55	£57
1.8	Application for parental order	£255	£263
2.1a	Parental responsibility (section 4(1)(c) or (3), 4A(1)(b) or(3) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1b	Parental responsibility (section 4ZA(1)(c) or (6) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1c	Guardians (section 5(1) or 6(7) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1d	Section 8 orders (section 10(1) or (2) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1e	Enforcement orders (section 11J(2) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1f	Compensation for financial loss (section 11O(2) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1g	Change of child’s surname or removal from jurisdiction while residence order in force (section 13(1) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1h	Special guardianship orders (section 14A(3) or (6)(a), 14C(3) or 14D(1) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1i	Secure accommodation order (section 25 of the Children Act 1989) – England	£255	£263
2.1ia	Secure accommodation order (section 25 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014)	£255	£263
2.1j	Change of child’s surname or removal from jurisdiction while care order in force (section 33(7) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1k	Contact with child in care (section 34(2), (3), (4) or (9) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1l	Education supervision order (section 36(1) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1m	Variation or discharge etc of care and supervision orders (section 39 of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1n	Child assessment order (section 43(1) of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1o	Emergency protection orders (sections 44, 45 and 46 of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1p	Warrant to assist person exercising powers under emergency protection order (section 48 of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1q	Recovery order (section 50 of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1s	Warrant to assist person exercising powers to search for children or inspect premises (section 102 of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1t	Applications in respect of enforcement orders (under Schedule A1 of the Children Act 1989)	£112	£116
2.1u	Amendment of enforcement order by reason of change of address (under Schedule A1 of the Children Act 1989)	£77	£79
2.1v	Financial provision for children (paragraph 1(1) or (4), 2(1) or (5), 5(6), 6(5), (7) or (8), 8(2), 10(2), 11 or 14(1) of Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1w	Approval of court for child in care of local authority to live abroad (paragraph 19(1) of Schedule 2 of the Children Act 1989) – England	£255	£263
2.1wa	Approval of court for child in care of local authority to live abroad (Wales)	£255	£263
2.1x	Extension of supervision order (paragraph 6 of Schedule 3 of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1y	Extension or discharge of education supervision order (paragraph 15(2) or 17(1) of Schedule 3 of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.1z	Appeals concerning foster parents (paragraph 8(1) of Schedule 8 of the Children Act 1989)	£255	£263
2.2	Care and supervision order (Section 31 of the Children Act 1989)	£2,437	£2,515
2.3	Appeal relating to Children Act fees 2.1(a) to 2.1(s) (v) to (y) and 2.2)	£237	£245
2.4	Appeal against a contribution order – England	£237	£245
2.5	Appeal against a contribution order – Wales	£237	£245
2.6(a)	Section 72 Cancellation, variation or removal or imposition of condition of registration of child minder or day carer (England)	£255	£263
2.6(b)	Section 34 Cancellation of registration of child minder or day carer (Wales)	£255	£263
2.7	Commencing child mind or day carer appeal for application (England or Wales)	£237	£245
3.1	Application/permission to apply for adoption	£201	£207
3.2	Application for a placement order (under Section 22 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002)	£539	£556
3.3	Application to the High Court with regards to inherent jurisdiction with respect to children	£201	£207
4.1	On an application for a warning notice to be attached to a contact order	£54	£56
5.1	Application (without notice)	£58	£60
5.2	Application for decree nisi, conditional order, separation order (no fee if undefended)	£59	£61
5.3	Application (on notice) (unless otherwise listed)	£184	£190
5.4	Application for a financial order (other than consent order)	£303	£313
6.1	Filing an appeal notice from a district judge, one or more lay justices, a justices’ clerk or an assistant to a justices’ clerk	£138	£142
7.2	Search of central index of parental responsibility agreements	£45	£17
9.2(d)	On filing a request for detailed assessment where fee 9.1 does not apply	£1,345	£1,365
9.3	Issue of default costs certificate	£65	£18
9.4	Appeal (detailed assessment proceedings) – Family	£231	£238
9.5	Request/application to set aside a default costs certificate	£121	£125
10.2	Application for a maintenance order to be registered under the Maintenance Orders 1950 or 1958 Act	£55	£57
11.1	Application for order for financial provision	£237	£245
12.1	Application to question a judgment debtor or other person	£59	£61
12.2	Application for a third party debt order/appointment of a receiver	£85	£88
12.3	Application for a charging order	£42	£43
12.4	Application for a judgment summons	£80	£83
12.5	Application for an attachment of earnings order – Family	£37	£38
13.1	Application for enforcement of a judgment or order – warrant of control against goods	£110	£114
13.2	On a request for further attempt at execution of a warrant at a new address where the warrant has been returned to the court not executed	£30	£6
13.3	Issue for a warrant of possession or a warrant of delivery	£131	£135
14.1	Sealing a writ of execution/possession/delivery	£66	£68
14.2	On a request or application to register a judgment or order; or for permission to enforce an arbitration award; or for a certified copy of a judgment or order for use abroad	£66	£68
15.1	Request for service by a bailiff of document (see order for exceptions)	£45	£46

Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) Fees Order 2009

SI Reference ID	Description	Current	New
1	Permission to appeal r21	£242	£250
2	Notice of reference r28 / appeal r24	£303	£313
3	Absent owner application (Compulsory Purchase Act 1965)	£550	£624
4	Restrictive covenant application r32 re s84 Law of Property Act 1925	£968	£999
5a	Rights of light application r41 to s2 Rights of Light Act 1959 – Definitive certificate	£1,320	£775
5b	Rights of light application r41 to s2 Rights of Light Act 1959 – Temporary & Definitive certificate	£1,650	£761
6	Interlocutory application	£121	£125
11a	Hearing as to entitlement – s84 Law of Property Act 1925 – discharge/modify restrictive covenant	£605	£624
11b	Order without hearing (r46) – s84 Law of Property Act 1925 – discharge/modify restrictive covenant	£275	£166
11c	Substantive hearing of originating application – s84 Law of Property Act 1925 – discharge/modify restrictive covenant	£1,210	£1,249
11d	Engrossing Minutes of Order – s84 Law of Property Act 1925 – discharge/modify restrictive covenant	£220	£41
12	Hearing or preliminary hearing of reference/appeal (no amount awarded)	£605	£624

Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (Judicial Review) (England and Wales) Fees Order 2011

SI Reference ID	Description	Current	New
1.1	Permission to apply for Judicial Review	£169	£174
1.1a	Judicial Review – Oral renewal	£424	£438
1.2a	Proceed with Judicial Review – permission granted at oral hearing	£385	£436
1.2b	Proceeding with Judicial Review after permission granted	£847	£874
1.3	Permission for Judicial Review – permission to proceed where proceedings started otherwise than by application for permission	£169	£174
2.1	Judicial Review General Application – On notice (where no other fee is specified)	£281	£290
2.2	Judicial Review General Application – By consent or without notice (where no other fee is specified)	£110	£114
2.3	Judicial Review – Application for a summons or order for a witness to attend the Tribunal	£55	£57

Non-Contentious Probate Fees Order 2004

SI Reference ID	Description	Current	New
3.1	Duplicate/second grant for same deceased person	£20	£21
6	Deposit of wills	£22	£23
7	Inspection of will/other document retained by the registry	£20	£23
11	Settling documents	£4	£5

First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Fees Order 2013

SI Reference ID	Description	Current	New
1.1	Commence proceedings (application or appeal) in a leasehold or residential property case, where no other fees applies	£110	£114
1.2	File proceedings for approval of the exercise of a power of entry	£110	£114
1.3	Mobile homes application (pitch fee other than Local Authority sites)	£22	£23
1.4	Mobile Homes – Application for determination to take into account cost of owner improvements – para 1.4	£22	£23
1.5	Mobile Homes – Determination of Local Authority pitch fee	£22	£23
1.6	Mobile Homes – Application for determination to take into account cost of owner improvements – para 1.6	£22	£23
2.1	Notice of hearing date for 1.1 or 1.2 application – only one payable if applications joined together	£220	£227

First-tier Tribunal (Gambling) Fees Order 2010

SI Reference ID	Description	Current	New
1.1*	Appeal s141 Gambling Act 2005 – casino operating licence s65(2)(a)	£14,000	£4,521
1.3*	Appeal s141 Gambling Act 2005 – general betting operating licence s65(2)(c)	£10,000	£4,521
1.4*	Appeal s141 Gambling Act 2005 – pool betting operating licence s65(2)(d)	£10,000	£4,521
1.5*	Appeal s141 Gambling Act 2005 – better intermediary operating licence s65(2)(e)	£10,000	£4,521
1.10*	Appeal s141 Gambling Act 2005 – lottery operating licence s65(2)(j)	£9,400	£4,521
1.11	Appeal s141 Gambling Act 2005 – personal management office licence s127	£1,760	£1,816
1.12	Appeal s141 Gambling Act 2005 – personal operational function licence s127 of that Act	£880	£908
2	Appeal s337(1) Gambling Act 2005 – order to void a bet s336(1)	£9,400	£4,521

Court of Protection Fees Order 2007

SI Reference ID	Description	Current	New
4	Application fee (Article 4)	£408	£421
5	Appeal fee (Article 5)	£257	£265
6	Hearing fee (Article 6)	£494	£259

Gender Recognition (Application Fees) Order 2006

SI Reference ID	Description	Current	New
2	Application for a Gender Recognition Certificate	£5	£6

*Please note that fees 1.1 – 1.10 in the First-tier Tribunal (Gambling) Fees Order 2010 will all be consolidated under one fee at £4,521 from 1st April.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 24 February 2025.

A new law to help the UK’s legal services sector maintain pole position and which will deliver millions more to grow the economy and help implement our Plan for Change.

The Arbitration Act, which received Royal Assent today (Monday 24 February), will help attract even more businesses from around the world to invest in the UK. It will re-enforce Britain’s position as the best place to resolve disputes without having to go to court.

This arbitration process saves companies significant costs in legal fees by providing a quicker alternative to court and reducing acrimony between the parties. Every year there are at least 5,000 domestic and international arbitrations in England and Wales – contributing at least £2.5 billion to the UK economy annually in fees alone.

Modernising arbitration law will ensure the UK remains the global destination of choice for the legal sector, outstripping competitors such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris. This will help generate greater employment in the sector to bring even more investment into the UK.

Minister for Courts and Legal Services, Sarah Sackman KC MP, said:

The UK’s legal sector contributes billions to the economy and employs hundreds of thousands across the country.

Companies from across the world look to the UK for our legal services and dispute resolution. This new Act ensures that arbitration law keeps this country ahead of the rest and supports economic growth as part of this government’s Plan for Change.

Today’s new law makes arbitration fairer and more efficient by simplifying procedures to reduce costs and protecting arbitrators from unreasonable lawsuits. It also strengthens the courts’ powers to support emergency arbitration so time-sensitive decisions can be made more easily.

International arbitration is a major and growing area of activity. Industry estimates suggest the sector grew by around 26% between 2016 and 2020, and in the past 10 years, UK exports of legal services have risen by more than 80%.

Cristen Bauer, Head of Policy, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, said:

As the leading professional body globally for dispute resolvers, we are delighted to see the Arbitration Act reach Royal Assent. We worked closely with the UK Law Commission and other officials during the review of the Arbitration Act 1996, and were pleased that the majority of our recommendations were included in the final report, and that all of the review’s recommendations were adopted.

The Arbitration Act will strengthen London’s position as an arbitration seat, and continue to set a high standard internationally. We look forward to seeing the positive impact of the Arbitration Act 2025 for many years ahead.

This Act supports economic growth in a multi-billion-pound sector – the UK is the largest legal market in Europe and is second only to the US globally.

The new laws are the latest step in the government’s work to support the sector to grow. This includes the GREAT Legal Services campaign which was launched in 2017 to promote the strength of English and Welsh Law, the UK’s world-renowned independent judiciary, and our legal expertise to the global market.

The latest figures from 2022 show that the UK’s legal sector generated £34 billion. This will be enhanced by key agreements in recent months including with Japan, Greece and Malaysia to allow UK lawyers to practise abroad.

The government asked the Law Commission to review the law to ensure the UK remains ahead of the curve when it comes to dispute resolution. They consulted extensively before making recommendations which have been accepted in full.

Once in force, the Arbitration Act will:

• Clarify which law underpins individual arbitration agreements thereby improving legal certainty and speeding up arbitrations.
• Empower arbitrators to speed-up decisions on issues that have no real prospect of success to make arbitration more efficient.
• Introduce a duty on arbitrators to tell parties any circumstances which could cast reasonable doubt on their impartiality in deciding an outcome of a dispute.
• Empower the court to better support arbitration through orders supporting the actions of emergency arbitrators to enhance their effectiveness, and orders against third parties (those not involved in the proceedings) to for example preserve evidence or take witness evidence.
• Extend arbitrator immunity against liability for resignations and the costs of the application to court for their removal, to support arbitrators to make impartial decisions.
• Simplify court procedures related to arbitration to increase clarity as well as reduce delays and costs for parties.

The new law will be commenced through regulations as soon as practicable.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 18 February 2025.

His Majesty The King, on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, has approved the appointment of a new Commissioner to the Judicial Appointments Commission.

His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of Upper Tribunal Judge Clive Lane as a Senior Judicial Commissioner of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) for three years commencing 1 May 2025.

The JAC is an independent body that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales, and for some tribunals with a UK-wide jurisdiction.

JAC Commissioners are appointed, under Schedule 12(1) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, by His Majesty The King on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor.

The appointment of Upper Tribunal Judge Clive Lane was made in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Judicial Appointment Commission Regulations 2013.

Biography

Upper Tribunal Judge Clive Lane was admitted as a solicitor in 1985 and was in private practice until 2001. He was a Legal Chair of the Appeals Service (now Social Entitlement Chamber) from 1999 until 2007. He was appointed a Deputy District Judge (Civil) in 2001. He served as an Immigration Judge from 2001 until 2009 when he was appointed a Judge of the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).

Since 2021, he has been authorised to sit as a Judge of the High Court (Family Division). In 2024, he was appointed a Justice of the Court of Appeal of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 14 February 2025.

Families, individuals, and charities will receive funds left to them in wills twice as quickly as they did last year, with probate applications now being granted in less than half the time.

The data published yesterday shows that HMCTS has slashed average wait times in December 2024 to just over four weeks. This compares to twelve weeks at the end of 2023 and over eight weeks at the end of June 2024. The improvement is a result of decisive Government action to reduce the backlog of cases which built up because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Around 80 per cent of grant applications are now completed online, with digital applications taking on average just over two weeks to complete – improving support for those who need it and easing the burden on people who are navigating what is often a challenging time. For those who complete the application online and submit their documents without any issues probate is granted in less than a week on average.

Minister for Courts and Legal Services, Sarah Sackman KC MP, said:

We know that handling probate can be tough for families at a difficult period in their lives. That is why so we’ve worked hard to reduce delays and make the process easier.

By cutting wait times and going digital, we’re ensuring people receive the support they need quickly at what can be a challenging time.

We’re getting public services back on their feet again as part of this Government’s Plan for Change.

The change comes after action was taken to recruit extra staff who have been trained to handle applications quickly and ensure fair and efficient processing, preventing delays.

In 2024, the average number of monthly grants issued was 27,400, marking a 20 per cent increase compared to the previous year. As a result, the number of outstanding cases is at its lowest point since early 2023 when data was first published.

The probate system has achieved a remarkable turnaround, reducing its backlog by over 50,000 cases since August 2023 and ensuring faster estate settlements for families.

Charities also benefit from a more efficient probate system because they now have quicker access to funds which have been entrusted to them – easing financial pressure on the third sector.

Even paper applications, which historically take longer to process than the digital system, have seen significant improvements in timeliness with waiting times reducing from just over 22 weeks to under 15 weeks.

James Stebbings, Chair of the Institute of Legacy Management, said:

We are delighted to see that HMCTS have reduced probate application processing times to where they were 5 years ago.

Each year the public leave charities £4bn of gifts in their wills and the relief in the charity sector that this income is flowing again is huge.

On behalf of the charity sector and all who benefit from it we would like to say a huge thank you.

Alex McDowell, Vice Chair of Remember A Charity and Director of Fundraising at the Duke of Edinburgh Award, said:

With more and more people across the UK choosing to support good causes through their Wills each year, an efficient and effective probate service is vital for sustaining charitable services and charities’ financial planning.

It ensures charitable gifts in wills can be put to good use swiftly, in line with supporters’ wishes.

We are hugely grateful to HMCTS for the improvements they have made and their ongoing engagement with the charity sector.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 12 February 2025.

Probation staff will focus more of their time on prolific offenders and monitoring the most dangerous people.

Speaking at a probation office in London (12 February), Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out her vision for the future of a Probation Service that protects the public, reduces reoffending and makes our streets safer as part of the Government’s plan for change.

To support this work, the Justice Secretary announced that 1,300 new probation officers will be recruited by March 2026. These new hires are in addition to the 1,000 officers to be recruited by this March, previously announced by Shabana Mahmood when she took office in July last year.

In her speech, the Justice Secretary argued that probation officers have been asked to do too much for too long. They have been burdened with high workloads and a one size fits all approach to managing offenders, regardless of the risk that they present to the public. This has meant officers have been unable to pay enough attention to those offenders who pose the greatest risk to society. This has led, in some cases, to missed warning signs where offenders have gone on to commit serious further offences, including murder.

With all probation units inspected in 2024 marked as “inadequate” or “requires improvement”, changes will now be made to help staff refocus their efforts where they have the greatest impact – with the offenders who need the most attention.

The Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood said:

The Probation Service must focus more time with offenders who are a danger to the public, and the prolific offenders whose repeat offending make life a misery for so many.

That means for low-risk offenders, we need to change our approach too. We need to tackle the root causes of their reoffending, and end a one-size-fits-all approach that isn’t working.

The first job of the state is to keep its people safe.  Today, as part of our Plan for Change, I have set out changes to the probation service to protect the public and make our streets safer.

Greater time with higher risk offenders will be made possible by changing probation’s approach to the management of low risk offenders.  Probation staff will now intervene earlier with these offenders, to understand the support they require and refer them to the services that will tackle the root causes of their reoffending.

These interventions are crucial as the latest data shows that the reoffending rate for those without stable accommodation is double those who are homeless, offenders employed six weeks after leaving prison had a reoffending rate around half of those out of work, and reoffending amongst those who complete drug treatment are 19 percentage points lower. This will help tackle a pressing issue the Criminal Justice System faces, with around 80 percent% of offenders now reoffenders.

The Chief Inspector of Probation, Martin Jones said:

The Probation Service does a vital job; however, our independent inspections highlight the serious challenges it faces- too few staff, with too little experience, managing too many cases to succeed.

These plans, which rightly focus on increasing probation resources and prioritising the most serious cases, are a positive step towards increasing impact on reoffending and better protecting the public.

To reduce the administrative burden resting on probation officers’ shoulders, the Justice Secretary will also introduce new technology including:

• A digital tool that will put all the information a probation officer might need to know about an offender into one place.
• Trialling a new system for risk assessing offenders, to make it more straightforward for probation officers to make robust decisions.
• Exploring the potential of AI to be used to automatically record and transcribe supervision conversations by taking notes in real time, which will allow probation staff to focus on building relationships while removing the need to write up notes into a computer afterwards.

In her speech, the Justice Secretary also exposed one of the inherited workload challenges faced by the probation service, which the Government will now address. Accredited Programmes are rehabilitative courses handed down by the courts to offenders to address the causes of their criminality.

Over the three years to April 2024, the probation service did not deliver these courses to nearly 13,000 offenders before their sentence expired. To address this issue, the Probation Service must now put in place a process of prioritisation so they will be delivered to offenders at the greatest risk of reoffending or causing serious harm. For those who will now not complete an accredited programme, they remain under the supervision of a probation officer. All the other requirements they face will remain in place.

Further information:

• Today’s speech will be published on gov.uk
• Guidance will be issued to staff in the coming weeks to deliver these crucial changes that will ultimately help to cut crime and keep the public safe.