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"will ‘cease to function" - no - the use of the future tense is wrong.

It HAS ceased to function. The waiting time for CMCs for clin neg cases in the QBD is now 10 months or so.

Prior to March 2013 a CMC would be listed within 6 weeks of the defence being filed. That period of time is now 9-10 months.

"Cook said claimants should provide the defendant with a costs estimate of the costs already incurred in investigating the claim, ideally in the letter of claim."

As if that will do any good - the insurers/ the NHSLA never agree anything. It matters not what you tell them or when you tell them.

"Claimants should also instruct the ‘bare minimum’ of experts to enable breach of duty and causation to be pleaded, with the court deciding on the deployment of additional experts."

So , how do I plead a schedule of loss in a High Court case ? If I put forward a "TBA" schedule I will simply be accused of failing to comply with CPR and /or not giving sufficient information to enable the Defendant to make an offer. Defendants will be making strike out applications left , right and centre.

"Cook lamented ‘repeated failure’ by both sides to complete the directions questionnaire and he encouraged discussions about budgets to start at the ‘earliest opportunity’."

The discussions can start as early as you like but the NHSLA never agree anything ever.

"The judge also stated that costs lawyers should be discouraged from attending budgeting hearings as they do not have the knowledge of the case to answer questions on spending to date."

Believe me , I would rather not use them but if the Defendant takes one to the CMC then I need equality of arms. The costs lawyer is also the poor soul who has spent a whole day going through the entire file preparing for the CMC. I fail to see how it could be said that the costs lawyer would not have knowledge of the case.

The joke is that the costs are challenged heavily at the end of the case anyway so the entire costs budgeting exercise is a complete waste of everyone's time.