“Since 1st October 2012, the LSC has been refusing applications for prior authority for experts if their fees are set within the codified rate [ as per the Community Legal Service (Funding) (Ammendment No.2) Order 2011]. However there is an exception – that is if the hours requested by the expert are ‘unusually large’. So the question for practioners is what constitutes an ‘unusually large’ amount of hours ? The odds are that if, for instance, you are instructing a psychologist for a bog standard cognitive assessment of a parent, then the hours are likely to be very much the same across the board. But as soon as any form of complexity creeps in, then how long the assessment / report takes to complete begins to vary. And when you get to Independent Social Workers, what is the ‘norm’ for the LSC and the ‘norm’ for the Independent Social Worker seem continents apart.”
Garden Court Family Law Blog, 31st October 2012
Source: www.gcfamily.wordpress.com
