The 109th CPR update made some changes to costs budgeting that came into effect on 1 October 2019.

Taking a fine-toothed comb to the Guidance notes on Precedent H turns up the following changes:

1. In paragraph 3, "anticipated costs" becomes "budgeted costs".

2. Paragraph 4 now has a new sentence: "The time estimated may have to be justified on [sic] the budget hearing along withe grade of fee earner doing the work".

3. In paragraph 6, mediation is no longer described as a contingency. It was of course news to many of us until recently that under the old rules, ADR did not include mediation and one needed a separate, contingency budget for it. No longer.

4. There is a new paragraph 10: "Definition of budgeted and incurred costs: see CPR 3.15 and PD3E para 7.4.

a. Incurred costs are all costs incurred up to and including the date of the first costs management order, unless otherwise ordered;

Budgeted costs are all costs to be incurred after the date of the first costs management order."

In the boxed parts of the Guidance, the following changes can be found:

5. "Amendments to statements of case" is added to the Issue/statements of case box.

6. "Any further CMC that is built into the proposed directions order" comes out of the CMC box and in the not-included section is inserted "Subsequent CMCs".

7. Counsel's brief fee moves from Trial to Trial Preparation but the refreshers stay in the Trial section.

8. Finally, there is confirmation that ADR now includes mediation.