CJC GUIDELINE HOURLY RATES WORKING GROUP REPORT
The Civil Justice Council has published its final report on the SCCO Guideline Hourly Rates (GHR).
The report concludes that the GHR should be increased as set out below: –
| Grade A | Grade B | Grade C | Grade D | |
| London 1 | £512 (25.2%) | £348 (17.6%) | £270 (19.5%) | £186 (34.8%) |
| London 2 | £373 (17.8%) | £289 (19.5%) | £244 (25%) | £139 (10.4%) |
| London 3 | £282 (13.7%) | £232 (15.8%) | £185 (11.9%) | £129 (7%) |
| National 1 | £261 (20.2%) | £218 (13.5%) | £178 (10.7%) | £126 (6.8%) |
| National 2 | £255 (26.78%) | £218 (23.2%) | £177 (21.3%) | £126 (13.5%) |
It is emphasised this is a recommendation and will require approval by the Master of the Rolls.
As expected from the indications given in the interim report of January 2021, the National 2 and 3 bands would be merged into one single band.
The proposed revised Guide to Summary Assessment at paragraph 28 retains the caveat that the ‘guideline figures are intended to provide a starting point for those faced with summary assessments’ and adds that ‘They may also be helpful starting point on detailed assessment’.
Many commentators believed that the Final Report would take account of the impact of the pandemic and the rise in remote working. However, the Report acknowledged that the impact ‘could not at this point in time be properly assessed and taken into account by the working group’. The Report repeated its recommendation made in the interim report that there should be a more fundamental review, probably in three years’ time.
The report recommends that ‘the CJC’s decision on annual update of GHRs should be guided by the outcome of the reviews of FRCs (Fixed Recoverable Costs) and IPEC (Intellectual Property Enterprise Court).
The preamble to the report can be found on the Civil Justice Council website at Civil Justice Council publishes final report on guideline hourly rates | Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
The report itself can be found at Civil Justice Council final report on guideline hourly rates (judiciary.uk)
The working group prepared a draft report which was open for public consultation between 8 January and 31 March 2021. Read the interim report online (PDF, opens in a new tab).
Bob Hanlon 05.08.21
