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(6) The Lord Chancellor must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to | |
bring information about fees to the attention of persons likely to have to pay | |
them. | |
(7) Fees payable under this section are recoverable summarily as a civil debt. | |
(8) Subsection (9) applies in relation to an authority which has power to prescribe | 5 |
fees payable in any of the courts referred to in subsection (1). | |
(9) Nothing in this section prevents the authority from applying to any extent | |
provisions contained in an order made under this section; and an instrument | |
made in exercise of the power is to be read (unless the contrary intention | |
appears) as applying those provisions as amended from time to time. | 10 |
88 Award of costs against third parties | |
After section 19A of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (c. 23) insert— | |
“19B Provision for award of costs against third parties | |
(1) The Lord Chancellor may by regulations make provision empowering | |
magistrates’ courts, the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal to make | 15 |
a third party costs order if the condition in subsection (3) is satisfied. | |
(2) A “third party costs order” is an order as to the payment of costs | |
incurred by a party to criminal proceedings by a person who is not a | |
party to those proceedings (“the third party”). | |
(3) The condition is that— | 20 |
(a) there has been serious misconduct (whether or not constituting | |
a contempt of court) by the third party, and | |
(b) the court considers it appropriate, having regard to that | |
misconduct, to make a third party costs order against him. | |
(4) Regulations made under this section may, in particular— | 25 |
(a) specify types of misconduct in respect of which a third party | |
costs order may not be made; | |
(b) allow the making of a third party costs order at any time; | |
(c) make provision for any other order as to costs which has been | |
made in respect of the proceedings to be varied on, or taken | 30 |
account of in, the making of a third party costs order; | |
(d) make provision for account to be taken of any third party costs | |
order in the making of any other order as to costs in respect of | |
the proceedings. | |
(5) Regulations made under this section in relation to magistrates’ courts | 35 |
must provide that the third party may appeal to the Crown Court | |
against a third party costs order made by a magistrates’ court. | |
(6) Regulations made under this section in relation to the Crown Court | |
must provide that the third party may appeal to the Court of Appeal | |
against a third party costs order made by the Crown Court.” | 40 |
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89 Fixing of fines: failure to furnish statement of financial circumstances | |
(1) In section 128(5) of the 2000 Act (fixing of fines: power of court to make | |
determination of financial circumstances where offender has failed to co- | |
operate with court etc.), in paragraph (b) before sub-paragraph (i) insert— | |
“(zi) has failed to furnish a statement of his financial | 5 |
circumstances in response to a request which is an | |
official request for the purposes of section 20A of the | |
Criminal Justice Act 1991 (offence of making false | |
statements as to financial circumstances),”. | |
(2) “The 2000 Act” means the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 | 10 |
(c. 6). | |
Register of judgments etc. and execution of writs | |
90 Register of judgments and orders etc. | |
(1) A register is to be kept, in accordance with regulations, of— | |
(a) judgments entered in the High Court; | 15 |
(b) judgments entered in county courts; | |
(c) administration orders made under section 112 of the County Courts | |
Act 1984 (c. 28) (power of county courts to make administration | |
orders); | |
(d) orders restricting enforcement made under section 112A of that Act | 20 |
(power of county courts to restrict enforcement of debts in lieu of | |
administration order); | |
(e) sums which are, for the purposes of the 1980 Act, sums adjudged to be | |
paid by a conviction or order of a magistrates’ court. | |
(2) “Regulations” means regulations made by the Lord Chancellor for the | 25 |
purposes of this section. | |
(3) The regulations may— | |
(a) provide for prescribed classes of judgments, orders or adjudged sums | |
to be exempt from registration; | |
(b) prescribe circumstances in which judgments, orders or adjudged sums | 30 |
(or classes of them) are to be exempt from registration; | |
(c) prescribe circumstances in which an entry in the register is to be | |
cancelled; | |
(d) in the case of sums adjudged to be paid by conviction of a magistrates’ | |
court, provide for sums to be registered only in prescribed | 35 |
circumstances or subject to prescribed conditions. | |
(4) The Lord Chancellor may fix charges to be made for— | |
(a) making information in an entry in the register available for inspection; | |
(b) carrying out an official search of the register; | |
(c) supplying a certified copy of information in an entry in the register. | 40 |
(5) The proceeds of those charges are to be applied in paying the expenses | |
incurred in maintaining the register; and any surplus is to be paid into the | |
Consolidated Fund. | |
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(6) If there is in force an agreement between the Lord Chancellor and a body | |
corporate relating to the keeping by that body corporate of the register the | |
register is to be kept by that body corporate. | |
(7) If, under subsection (6), the register is kept by a body corporate— | |
(a) the Lord Chancellor may recover from the body corporate any | 5 |
expenses incurred by the Lord Chancellor in connection with the | |
supply of information to that body for the purposes of the register, | |
(b) subsection (4) applies as if it enabled the Lord Chancellor to fix the | |
maximum charges to be made (instead of the charges to be made), and | |
(c) subsection (5) does not apply. | 10 |
(8) If subsection (6) ceases to apply to a body corporate as a result of the | |
termination (for any reason) of the agreement, the Lord Chancellor may | |
require the information contained in the entries in the register to be transferred | |
to such person as he may direct. | |
91 High Court writs of execution | 15 |
(1) Schedule 5 contains provisions about High Court writs of execution. | |
(2) Any rule of law requiring a writ of execution issued from the High Court to be | |
directed to a sheriff is abolished. | |
Damages | |
92 Periodical payments | 20 |
(1) For section 2 of the Damages Act 1996 (c. 48) (periodical payments by consent) | |
substitute— | |
“2 Periodical payments | |
(1) A court awarding damages for future pecuniary loss in respect of | |
personal injury— | 25 |
(a) may order that the damages are wholly or partly to take the | |
form of periodical payments, and | |
(b) shall consider whether to make that order. | |
(2) A court awarding other damages in respect of personal injury may, if | |
the parties consent, order that the damages are wholly or partly to take | 30 |
the form of periodical payments. | |
(3) A court may not make an order for periodical payments unless satisfied | |
that the continuity of payment under the order is reasonably secure. | |
(4) For the purpose of subsection (3) the continuity of payment under an | |
order is reasonably secure if it is protected by— | 35 |
(a) a guarantee given under section 6 of or the Schedule to this Act, | |
or | |
(b) a scheme under section 213 of the Financial Services and | |
Markets Act 2000 (compensation) (whether or not as modified | |
by section 4 of this Act). | 40 |
(5) An order for periodical payments may include provision— | |
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(a) about how the payments are to be made; | |
(b) requiring the party responsible for the payments to take | |
specified action to secure continuity of payment; | |
(c) enabling a party to apply for a variation of provision included | |
under paragraph (a) or (b). | 5 |
(6) Where a person has a right to receive payments under an order for | |
periodical payments, or where an arrangement is entered into in | |
satisfaction of an order which gives a person a right to receive | |
periodical payments, that person’s right under the order or | |
arrangement may not be assigned or charged without the approval of | 10 |
the court which made the order; and— | |
(a) a court shall not approve an assignment or charge unless | |
satisfied that special circumstances make it necessary, and | |
(b) a purported assignment or charge, or agreement to assign or | |
charge, is void unless approved by the court. | 15 |
(7) Where an order is made for periodical payments, an alteration of the | |
method by which the payments are made shall be treated as a breach of | |
the order (whether or not the method was specified under subsection | |
(5)(a)) unless— | |
(a) the court which made the order declares its satisfaction that the | 20 |
continuity of payment under the new method is reasonably | |
secure, | |
(b) the new method is protected by a guarantee given under section | |
6 of or the Schedule to this Act, or | |
(c) the new method is protected by a scheme under section 213 of | 25 |
the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (compensation) | |
(whether or not as modified by section 4 of this Act). | |
2A Periodical payments: supplementary | |
(1) Civil Procedure Rules may require a court to take specified matters into | |
account in considering— | 30 |
(a) whether to order periodical payments; | |
(b) the security of the continuity of payment; | |
(c) whether to approve an assignment or charge. | |
(2) Section 2(6) is without prejudice to— | |
(a) the power of a court to make an income payments order under | 35 |
section 310 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (or equivalent legislation | |
for Northern Ireland), or | |
(b) a person’s power to enter into an income payments agreement | |
under section 310A of that Act (or equivalent legislation for | |
Northern Ireland). | 40 |
(3) In section 2 “damages” includes an interim payment which a court | |
orders a defendant to make to a claimant. | |
(4) In the application of this section to Northern Ireland— | |
(a) a reference to Civil Procedure Rules shall be taken as a reference | |
to rules of court, and | 45 |
(b) a reference to a claimant shall be taken as a reference to a | |
plaintiff. | |
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(5) Section 2 is without prejudice to any power exercisable apart from that | |
section. | |
2B Variation of orders and settlements | |
(1) The Lord Chancellor may by order enable a court which has made an | |
order for periodical payments to vary the order in specified | 5 |
circumstances (otherwise than in accordance with section 2(5)(c)). | |
(2) The Lord Chancellor may by order enable a court in specified | |
circumstances to vary the terms on which a claim or action for damages | |
for personal injury is settled by agreement between the parties if the | |
agreement— | 10 |
(a) provides for periodical payments, and | |
(b) expressly permits a party to apply to a court for variation in | |
those circumstances. | |
(3) An order under this section may make provision— | |
(a) which operates wholly or partly by reference to a condition or | 15 |
other term of the court’s order or of the agreement; | |
(b) which has effect irrespective of the conditions or other terms of | |
the court’s order or of the agreement; | |
(c) about the nature of an order which may be made by a court on | |
a variation; | 20 |
(d) about the matters to be taken into account on considering | |
variation; | |
(e) of a kind that could be made by Civil Procedure Rules or, in | |
relation to Northern Ireland, rules of court (and which may be | |
expressed to be with or without prejudice to the power to make | 25 |
those rules). | |
(4) An order under this section may apply (with or without modification) | |
or amend an enactment about provisional or further damages. | |
(5) An order under this section shall be subject to any order under section | |
1 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (allocation between High | 30 |
Court and county courts)). | |
(6) An order under this section— | |
(a) shall be made by statutory instrument, | |
(b) may not be made unless the Lord Chancellor has consulted such | |
persons as he thinks appropriate, | 35 |
(c) may not be made unless a draft has been laid before and | |
approved by resolution of each House of Parliament, and | |
(d) may include transitional, consequential or incidental provision. | |
(7) In subsection (4)— | |
“provisional damages” means damages awarded by virtue of | 40 |
subsection (2)(a) of section 32A of the Supreme Court Act 1981 | |
or section 51 of the County Courts Act 1984 (or, in relation to | |
Northern Ireland, paragraph 10(2)(a) of Schedule 6 to the | |
Administration of Justice Act 1982), and | |
“further damages” means damages awarded by virtue of | 45 |
subsection (2)(b) of either of those sections (or, in relation to | |
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Northern Ireland, paragraph 10(2)(b) of Schedule 6 to the | |
Administration of Justice Act 1982).” | |
(2) In section 329AA of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (c. 1) | |
(periodical payments)— | |
(a) for subsection (1) substitute— | 5 |
“(1) Periodical payments shall not for the purposes of income tax be | |
regarded as the income of any of the persons mentioned in | |
subsection (2) below (and shall be paid without deduction | |
under section 348(1)(b) or 349(1)). | |
(1A) In subsection (1) “periodical payments” means periodical | 10 |
payments made pursuant to— | |
(a) an order of a court made in reliance on section 2 of the | |
Damages Act 1996 (including an order as varied), | |
(b) an agreement settling a claim or action for damages in | |
respect of personal injury (including an agreement as | 15 |
varied), or | |
(c) an undertaking given by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau | |
(being the company of that name incorporated on 14th | |
June 1946 under the Companies Act 1929), or a Domestic | |
Regulations Insurer within the meaning of the Bureau’s | 20 |
Domestic Regulations, in relation to a claim or action for | |
damages in respect of personal injury.”, | |
(b) in subsection (3) for “if the agreement or order mentioned in that | |
subsection or a subsequent agreement so provides,” substitute “if the | |
order, agreement or undertaking mentioned in subsection (1A), or a | 25 |
varying order, agreement or undertaking, so provides or permits,” and | |
(c) for subsection (7) substitute— | |
“(7) For the purposes of subsection (1A) above— | |
(a) the reference to an order of a court made in reliance on | |
section 2 of the Damages Act 1996 includes an order of a | 30 |
court outside the United Kingdom which is similar to an | |
order made in reliance on that section, and | |
(b) the reference to an agreement settling a claim or action | |
includes a reference to an agreement to make payments | |
on account of damages that may be awarded in a claim | 35 |
or action.” | |
(3) In section 329AB(1) of that Act (statutory compensation) for “subsection (1)” | |
substitute “subsection (1A)”. | |
(4) In this section— | |
(a) subsection (1) shall extend only to England and Wales and Northern | 40 |
Ireland, and | |
(b) the remainder shall extend to the whole of the United Kingdom. | |
93 Periodical payments: security | |
(1) For sections 4 and 5 of the Damages Act 1996 (c. 48) (enhanced protection for | |
structured settlement annuitant) substitute— | 45 |
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