Master of the Rolls confirms that guideline hourly rates will not be changed

The Master of the Rolls has issued a statement confirming that guideline hourly rates (GHRs) will remain at their existing levels, as originally set in 2010.

In July 2014, Lord Dyson concluded that there was insufficient evidence to accept the Civil Justice Council Costs Committee's recommendations for new GHRs (see Legal update, Master of the Rolls rejects recommendations for new guideline hourly rates), indicating that he planned to hold discussions with the Law Society and the Ministry of Justice regarding how further evidence could be obtained. His statement published on 17 April 2015 confirms that discussions have not materially changed the position. There is insufficient funding for any in-depth survey and there is doubt whether, even if such funds were available, enough firms would be willing to participate.

Lord Dyson lists various trends and factors that are rendering GHRs less relevant, such as:

However, he notes that GHRs are still an important component of the assessment of costs. They provide a yardstick for comparison purposes in costs budgeting and are used by smaller law firms as a rate to base practice charges. Lord Dyson confirms that the existing rates will "remain in force for the foreseeable future" and will continue to be an element of the assessment of costs, alongside judicial application of the proportionality test and costs management.

Source: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary: Publications: Guideline Hourly Rates (17 April 2015).