Costs budgeting to be disapplied in the QBD for three months

News | Fri 10th Jul, 2015

Costs budgeting will be disapplied in all clinical negligence cases listed in the Queen’s Bench Division from October 2015 to January 2016.

The disapplication was suggested by Lord Justice Jackson in his Harbour Lecture on 13th May 2015. He noted that in 2014 there were 1,486 new clinical negligence actions in London, up from 800 in 2009, and said that as a result of costs budgeting “a large backlog of CCMCs has now built up in London. The waiting time for a first case management conference is now running at about 9 months. Delays of that order are unacceptable and defeat the object of the 2013 civil justice reforms. … In my view the way to resolve this impasse is by granting a one?off release.”

Cases listed from October 2015 to January 2016 will be listed for ‘old style’ shorter case management hearings. It is understood that the Queen’s Bench Division aims to clear the backlog by the end September 2015.

A spokesperson for the Judicial Office said: “The court has a standing discretion to disapply the costs budgeting/management provisions in individual cases. As a temporary measure, to clear a backlog of cases, the Queen’s Bench Masters responsible for the case management of clinical negligence cases are exercising this discretion in relation to cases listed before them between October 2015 and January 2016. This approach will be kept under review.”