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I am now a defendant solicitor dealing with disease (mostly the novel legacy deafness claims). I previously acted for claimants. While the contribution above to the way costs budgeting could be constructed is interesting, I am more inclined to the view of the anonymous postings at 5:43 and 6:51 pm.

The process is a total waste of time and money for litigants in most cases and is clearly not only useless, but very expensive: one telephone CMC to discuss tracking: if multi-track, off to an in person CCMC for costs budgeting and time-tabling, adding around £10,000 or so to overall costs with, as far as I can see, no useful benefit to the parties at all at all, and serious dis-benefit to the court system.

Interesting that more than one of the experienced District Judges I have had to deal with at hearings are distinctly unimpressed with the system, possibly concerned at the time and court resource it is taking.

Costs budgeting needs to be scrapped - there may be cases for which it is appropriate: in which case those can be identified and the system applied (preferably with some of the amendments suggested above).