There is a provision within the MOJ portal to allow an adult to request an interim payment from the Defendant compensator. They send an inteirm payment pack via the MOJ portal and the Defendant compensator can decide to pay it (with the amount being credited against the final settlement or judgment) or refuse. If it is £1,000, it is compulsory and if it is more than £1,000, the Defendant must at least pay that sum and then set out why the full amount cannot be agreed.
The Claimant can exit the process and issue Part 7 proceedings if they are content that the interim payment was reasonable, but can be limited to MOJ portal costs if the interim payment awarded is not more than what was offered by the Defendant.
When a child Claimant brings a personal injury claim, the process for securing interim payments, in particular with regards to the cost of medical treatment such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), is governed by specific procedural safeguards. These rules ensure that any payment made to or on behalf of a child is properly approved by the Court.
I was due to appear on behalf of a Defendant in respect of Part 7 proceedings that had been issued because the Claimant said the Defendant had refusd the interim payment for CBT in the sum of £2,090.
I was substituted out of the case at the last minute to cover a hearing that a previous advocate could not attend due to illness. I had already filed a skeleton argument, explaining that while the Defendant had no objections to the interim payment, it believed the Claimant had mistakenly exited the MOJ portal and failed to properly communicate a request for an interim payment. The Defendant wanted to resever its position about costs.
The application had raised an important procedural question for me about how interim payments are handled in child injury claims in the MOJ.
The Defendant’s Position
As above, the Defendant did not oppose the interim payment in principle. Realistically, they could not. However, the Defendant disputed the procedural approach taken; namely, the Claimant’s alleged interim payment request, which was said to justify exiting the portal and seeking an interim payment.
Under CPR 21.10, any payment or settlement involving a child must be approved by the Court unless it is made directly to a treatment provider. The rule states:
“No settlement, compromise or payment (including any voluntary interim payment) and no acceptance of money paid into court shall be valid… without the approval of the court.”
This safeguard ensures that any funds awarded genuinely serve the child’s best interests.
Part 7 Proceedings and the MOJ Portal
The Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents (“the Protocol’) sets out clear provisions regarding child Claimants: Paragraph 7.26 and 7.27 says the following:-
Request for an interim payment where the claimant is a child
7.26 The interim payment provisions in this Protocol do not apply where the claimant is a child. Where the claimant is a child and an interim payment is reasonably required proceedings must be started under Part 7 of the CPR and an application for an interim payment can be made within those proceedings.
(Rule 21.10 provides that no payment, which relates to a claim by a child, is valid without the approval of the court.)
7.27 Paragraph 7.26 does not prevent a defendant from making a payment direct to a treatment provider.
The must be read to mean that the process for requesting an interim payment is not going to be the same process utlisied by adults on the MOJ portal. It must be the case that requests must be communicated outside the portal and if not agreed, then Part 7 proceedings can be jsutifie and the matter must exit the portal.
Payments must still obtain approval from the Court under CPR 21, so how can that happen if the matter is in the portal? The simple answer must be this; Part 8 proceedings are issued, an approval hearing is listed and once approved, the matter is stayed. That way, either a final approval hearing or stage 3 contested can be listed once the stay is lifted. However, if the inteirm was in respect of treatment (as above), then the Defendant could evade the same by paying the treatment provider directly.
The Defendant’s Submissions
I had drafted a skeleton argument on behalf of the Defendant with the following submissions.
- The MOJ portal cannot be used for interim payments in child cases (per paragraph 7.26).
- If the Defendant refuses an interim payment, the Claimant may exit the MOJ portal and issue Part 7 proceedings.
- If a voluntary interim payment is agreed, the claim may remain in the MOJ portal, with the Claimant issuing Part 8 proceedings to seek the Court’s approval. Once approved, the claim can be stayed.
- Under Part 45, the Court has discretion to award more than one Stage 3 Type B fee if an initial approval is refused but later granted.
- Alternatively, the Defendant may pay the treatment provider directly, removing the need for approval altogether.
In the case referred to above, it was speculated that the Claimant Solicitors believed they made a request, it was recorded on file that there was a request via the MOJ portal and that as this is unlikley to have been allowed for the reasons above, there was doubt as to whethe the Claimant correctly exited the MOJ portal and issued Part 7 proceedings.
Discussion
It is a very interesting point, sadly not one I was privy to hear the outcome of and, more importantly, would have heard even if I attended that hearing as the position by the Defendant was to not object to the interim payment but reserve the position on costs to the conclusion of the claim (either the final approval hearing or trial) where the parties could make substantive submissions on that point.
It will be interesting to see if my approach is deemed correct by the judiciary.
Information
AJH Advocacy Limited, a Limited Company which is regulated by the Bar Standards Boards (entity number 190758), ceases trading on the 12th January 2026.
From the 12th January 2026 and onwards, Alec Hancock will practice as a Barrister at Magdalen Chambers in Exeter. For instructions on matters on or after 12th January 2026, please contact Magdalen Chambers via clerks@magdalenchambers.co.uk or by telephone on 01392 285 200.