The Court Funds Office (CFO) was established in 1726 by an Act of Parliament and the creation of the post of Accountant General of the Court of Chancery (later to become CFO). We administer funds paid 'into court' as a result of civil proceedings in courts in England and Wales, including the High Court. This involves accepting monies in, known as lodgments; investing monies and making payments to claimants.
The Head of the Court Funds Office is Eddie Bloomfield.
The appointee to the office of the Official Solicitor to the Senior Courts is Alastair Pitblado; the appointee to the office of Public Trustee is Eddie Bloomfield.
The Official Solicitor is part of the judicial system of England and Wales (excluding Scotland and Northern Ireland), while the Public Trustee is a separate and independent statutory body, and both are appointed by the Lord Chancellor and administered as part of the Ministry of Justice.
There are around 125 staff, of whom 18 are lawyers. The staff are civil servants who specialise in particular areas of the work. About 40 of the staff are caseworkers, all of whom have access to in-house legal advice where appropriate, and some of whom have the conduct of cases under the direct supervision of the lawyers.
Like solicitors in private practice, the Official Solicitor has duties and responsibilities to those for whom he acts and to the courts (those duties also include the administration of Child Trust Funds for 'looked after' children in England and Wales), while the Public Trustee has similar duties and responsibilities. In addition, the Public Trustee maintains a register of Notices Affecting land (Notices to Quit) under Section 18 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1994.
A summary of the history and the legal basis governing the activities of the office is given here.
The International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) and the Reinforcement of Maintenance Orders Unit (REMO) are both sited in the office. These functions fulfil international obligations.
