Costs

SEN Action operates on a capped fee basis of £5,000 plus VAT.

• You will not be charged more than this for any case you ask SEN Action to support you with.

• This is not a fixed fee. So you could pay less than the capped fee amount.

• Our costs are calculated on the basis of an hourly rate of £120 per hour plus VAT until the capped fee is reached

• Remember to add the VAT & Disbursements (see below) when calculating how much it will cost you.

Capped Fee of £5,000 plus VAT

• If your appeal reaches a Tribunal Hearing then you will be charged the full capped fee.
• If your appeal does not reach a Hearing then our costs are calculated on the basis of an hourly rate of £120 per hour plus VAT until the capped fee is reached.
• Adjourned Hearings are included within the capped fee.

  This means that if your case proceeds to a Tribunal Hearing but the case is not completed on that day you will not be charged any extra for the subsequent Hearing(s). If the case has adjourned however, as a result of the unreasonable conduct of the local authority then additional costs will be incurred. These additional costs will be recovered from the Tribunal. 

  Please note: this relates to SEN Action’s fees and not those of any experts you instruct. We will work with you to try to obtain competitive rates with professionals who are assisting you with your case. Please see below for more details.

• Remember to add the VAT & Disbursements (see below) when calculating how much it will cost you. 

Fixed fee of £2,000 plus VAT

SEN Action offers a Representation Only service for a fixed fee of £2,000 plus VAT.

• You carry out your own preparation or somebody other than SEN Action does

• But you require representation at the Hearing i.e. maybe your solicitor has advised you that you need to instruct a barrister.

• Then our experienced Specialist SEN Advocate can provide representation for you at a fraction of the cost of a barrister.

• The fee covers a written advice or strategy note (if you require it), review of appeal documentation and preparation, professional consultations and representation at the Hearing

• If the case does not complete on the Hearing day and you require SEN Action’s continued involvement then you will be charged an hourly rate of £120 per hour plus VAT upto a maximum additional cost of £3,000 plus VAT

• Therefore you will never pay more than SEN Action’s capped fee of £5,000 plus VAT.

• Remember to add the VAT & Disbursements (see below) when calculating how much it will cost you. 

In the unlikely event that your case proceeds to the Upper Tribunal, SEN Action’s costs are as follows:

Existing Clients

• If your SEN Tribunal appeal has been unsuccessful and there is a reasonable basis for an appeal to the Upper Tribunal then SEN Action will offer this service for a capped fee of £2000 plus VAT.

• If your SEN Tribunal appeal has been successful but the Local Authority has appealed to the Upper Tribunal then you still may require specialist support. If such support is required then SEN Action will offer this service for a capped fee of £2000 plus VAT. 

• If following the Upper Tribunal Hearing your appeal is to be reconsidered by the SEN Tribunal then SEN Action will offer its services at a reduced capped fee rate of £3000 plus VAT.

• Remember to add the VAT & Disbursements (see below) when calculating how much it will cost you.

New Clients

• If you have previously appealed to the SEN Tribunal without the support from SEN Action and your case is now in the Upper Tribunal then SEN Action will offer its services at its capped fee rate of £5,000 plus VAT.

• If following the Upper Tribunal Hearing your appeal is to be reconsidered by the SEN Tribunal then SEN Action will offer its services at a reduced capped fee of £3,000 plus VAT.

• Remember to add the VAT & Disbursements (see below) when calculating how much it will cost you. 

To assist you with your appeal you are likely to need to engage the services of professionals to assess your child, produce a report and if necessary to attend a Tribunal Hearing. This will be an arrangement you make directly with the experts and this does not form part of SEN Action’s services.

Depending on the issues associated with your appeal you could require the assistance of a number of experts, such as, amongst others; an Educational Psychologist, a Speech and Language Therapist and an Occupational Therapist.

The costs for each professional will vary, however can be costly.

SEN Action will work with you to obtain the most competitive rate possible for expert instruction.

SEN Action is able to offer you specialist support for any mediation or dispute resolution if this is a process you decide to engage in. Our Specialist Advocate is also a qualified mediator and has extensive experience in the area of SEN. 

The cost for this service is a capped fee of £2,000 plus VAT. 

Please see our detailed FAQs for more information on this process.

This is a developing area of expertise for SEN Action and such our knowledge and expertise is growing. Our Specialist Advocate for example, recently supported a student to successfully challenge her final degree classification. The student had a disability that the University failed to take into account. 

Currently, SEN Action is offering its services free of charge to young people in higher education. The only costs that need to be covered will be the disbursements, which will be kept to a minimum. 

If you are interested please contact us using the contact details above.  

Disbursements are charged in addition to the hourly rates and capped fee.  SEN Action will work with you to keep these to a minimum as it remains our objective to provide you with specialist advocacy support at a more affordable price.

It is not possible to list all of the disbursement items that may arise in your case. We have included below disbursements that may occur:

• Photocopying and printing over 50 pages

You will only be charged for the materials used and it is based on a cumulative basis. No add on costs. SEN Action aims to communicate electronically as much as possible, which will help reduce costs.

• Any single postage item over £5.00

SEN Action will only charge you for large postal items. No add on costs. SEN Action aims to communicate electronically as much as possible, which will help reduce costs.

• Courier’s Fees

This is not often needed, however when it is you will be charged for actual courier fee. No add on costs. SEN Action aims to communicate electronically as much as possible, which will help reduce costs.

• Travel Expenses

You will be responsible for covering the travel expenses and accommodation costs of the Specialist SEN Advocate that are incurred during your case. SEN Action will work with you to keep this to a minimum. This could include holding telephone conferences in place of face to face meetings.

For any travel expenses that are incurred the following applies:

By Car: 45p per mile

By Rail: The cost of the train fare

Accommodation: The cost of the accommodation

You will also be charged for SEN Action’s time, however this will be included within the capped fee or fixed fee arrangement.

• Expert’s Fees

You will need to instruct experts to assist you with your appeal. The costs are variable depending on the professional you instruct and what you need them to do. SEN Action will work with you to try to secure a competitive fee. 

SEN Action is dedicated to providing its Clients with flexible payment options. You can therefore, decide which of the following two options suits you best:

• Advanced Payment

As you know you will not pay more than SEN Action’s Capped Fees then you can elect to pay the whole fee upfront.

If your case is settled early and the capped fee is not reached then you will receive a refund from SEN Action for the part of the fee that has not been used.

• Instalments

You can elect to pay the fee in instalments and this can be arranged in a way that suits your situation.

If your case is settled early and you have paid more than is owed then you will receive a refund from SEN Action for the part of the fee that has not been used.

Please note: Full and complete payment of the Capped Fee is required within 7 days of the final Hearing / Mediation.

• Disbursements

Disbursements will be billed as and when they occur. Full and complete payment of the disbursement is required within 7 days of the final Hearing / Mediation.