Simplified costs budgeting has proven popular with judges and lawyers in the first year of testing and is likely to be expanded, the deputy head of civil justice has revealed.

Lady Justice Cockerill said the early feedback from the pilot of so-called costs budgeting ‘lite’ has been that it cuts down on cost management hearings and will ultimately reduce costs.

The three-year pilot scheme applies to business and property court claims in the Manchester, Leeds or Central London county courts with a value of less than £1m. The idea is that the budgeting process is proportionate to the complexity and value of claims, with and amended forms for filling in the budget.

Cockerill, speaking at an event hosted by the Association of Costs Lawyers in London, said the likelihood is that the system will be extended across other regions.

‘It has been very, very popular amongst judges and, outside of London, it has been very, very popular generally,’ she said. ‘We have seen suggestions that people are issuing in locations where they can access cost budgeting lite rather than in the other district registries. You can anticipate that it will be brought back to [the Civil Procedure Rule Committee] with a view to wider rollout, certainly across district registries.’

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Cockerill also confirmed that two Civil Justice Council costs reports are due to be published soon – one on reform to the costs provisions of the Solicitors Act 1974, and the other introducing guideline hourly rates for barristers and a new rate for the biggest and most complex commercial cases.

A working group of the Civil Justice Council, chaired by Mr Justice Adam Johnson, has been considering recommendations for reform to the Solicitors Act 1974. It has also considered the scope of future reform in relation to contentious and non-contentious costs.

Asked about the Solicitors Act, Cockerill said: ‘The legislation hasn’t really kept pace with developments and the status quo has made everybody very unhappy.’

She added: ‘The report on guideline hourly rates, while a less complicated issue, had been more contentious. ‘Guideline hourly rates for barristers were a bit of a shock to a number of people, but the CJC has managed to get some very good data to consult on.’