This Practice Note addresses provisional assessment, a procedure introduced into the High Court and County Court in April 2013. It covers what it is and when it applies. It explains the relevant rules, how the assessment is carried out and what the parties can do if they want to dispute the provisional assessment. It also considers appeals against decisions made following a request for an oral rehearing of issues decided on provisional assessment. For quick access to the specific rules that are apply in provisional assessment proceedings, see: What rules apply for provisional assessment—checklist, and for information on the documents required for provisional assessment proceedings, see: Documents required for provisional assessment—checklist. What is it and when does it apply? What is it? Provisional assessment is the procedure by which the court provisionally assesses costs without an oral hearing, ie on the papers. CPR 47.15 sets out the specific provisions in respect of provisional assessment. No party is allowed to attend the assessment (CPR PD 47, para 14.4(1)) as it is carried out on the papers. Note, there is

An assessment of costs made without a hearing.

ARCHIVED: This document is being retained for historical purposes only. This pilot scheme ended on 31 March 2013. For information on provisional assessment, see Practice Note: Provisional assessment. Jackson reforms Lord Justice Jackson in his report on this pilot scheme dated 13 January 2012 concluded that the pilot scheme has been a success and recommended that it be rolled out nationally with training being given to staff and district judges to assist them with this. Draft rules were drawn up to be put to the Rule Committee in due course. For more information on this report, see News Analysis: Lord Justice Jackson report on provisional assessment pilot. What is this? The County Court Provisional Assessment Scheme (the Scheme) was a pilot scheme by which parties were entitled to request a written detailed assessment of costs with the option of then asking for an oral assessment hearing. Where and when is it running? The Scheme was piloted in the Leeds, York and Scarborough county courts. It ran until 31 March 2013. When

Provisional damages, in a claim for personal injuries, may be awarded where it is proved or admitted that there is a chance that the claimant will, as a result of the wrong done, develop some serious disease or suffer some serious deterioration in his physical or mental condition.

Background and framework Purpose of a provisional damages award When the court makes a once and for all lump sum award, it is designed to cover both past and future losses. When the claimant's prognosis is uncertain, the court has the power to award provisional damages to avoid injustice to either of the parties. If a claimant's condition is at risk of deteriorating, it would be unfair on the claimant if the court made an award based on their current condition, which could leave them under-compensated if their health worsened. At the same time, it would be unjust on the defendant to make a lump sum award in respect of a future condition that may never develop. In addition to having the power to make a periodical payments order, the court also has the power to make a provisional damages award to take into account future imponderables. In particular, this power should be exercised where providing compensation for the risk that a claimant might suffer a serious deterioration would probably result in them being overcompensated, yet if the risk were to materialise

The Home Office has issued what it terms ‘monthly monitoring of entry clearance visa applications’ statistics, giving provisional data which it says gives an indication of the number of people who have an intention to enter the UK for work and study reasons. This is further to the various policy changes made in recent months with the intention of reducing net migration. The data tables show numbers of entry clearance visas applied for by main applicants, and separately by dependents, in the Skilled Worker, Skilled Worker/Health and Care and Sponsored Study routes. Interestingly the data shows a significant decrease in the numbers of Health and Care Worker applications by main applicants and dependants, and by Student dependants, from late 2023, when the relevant measures relating to student switching and dependants of care workers which preceded the main April 2024 package of changes were implemented/had been announced. The page says that the next provisional data set update will be published in June 2024.

A court appointment, often of the official receiver, made at any time after the presentation of a winding up petition usually to protect the company's assets, preserve the company's books and records or to protect the public pending the making of a winding up order.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: The judgment in Aerovías Del Continente Americano S.A. and other companies v Versilia Solutions Ltd relates in particular to three aspects of provisional liquidations. First, the importance of ensuring that the scope of the order appointing provisional liquidators confers all the powers they can anticipate requiring. Second, the need to return to court to vary the appointing order and/or seek directions where the powers originally conferred turn out to be insufficient. Third, confirmation of the court's power to retrospectively ratify the actions of provisional liquidators under its overall supervisory control functions. The court signalled that, while it was prepared to grant relief in this case, such applications are likely to receive closer scrutiny from here on, and practitioners should ensure that provisional liquidation orders are drafted with sufficient foresight. Written by Sam Fenwick, partner and Rhian Bevan trainee solicitor, at Wedlake Bell.

Employment analysis: The EAT has confirmed that the appointment of a provisional liquidator may trigger regulation 8(7) of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE 2006), SI 2006/246, meaning that regulations 4 and 7 governing the transfer of employment and employees and automatic unfair dismissal are disapplied.

Provisional remedies are temporary court orders granted before or during proceedings to protect a party’s position until final judgment. They secure assets, preserve evidence, or maintain the status quo so that a judgment, if obtained, can be effective and not rendered futile. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the term commonly covers interim injunctions, freezing orders (Mareva injunctions), search orders (Anton Piller orders), interim payments, and orders for delivery up or preservation of property and documents. These are largely governed by the Civil Procedure Rules and developed through case law. In Scotland, comparable measures are known as interim orders or diligences, including interim interdict, arrestment on the dependence and inhibition. In Ireland, provisional remedies include interlocutory and interim injunctions, Mareva and Anton Piller orders, and various preservation and security orders, grounded in statute and equitable jurisdiction. Across all four jurisdictions, courts exercise a discretion, applying tests such as serious issue to be tried, balance of convenience, adequacy of damages, and full and frank disclosure on without-notice applications. Provisional remedies are crucial litigation tools for risk management, asset protection and effective enforcement.

An amount inserted in a bill of quantities, or contract sum analysis, to cover certain items of work in building or engineering contracts which cannot be accurately defined, detailed or valued at the time when the tendering documents are issued by the employer ie a type of contingency sum. The contract sum will be adjusted upwards or downwards according to the actual expenditure.

What are provisional sums? There is no precise, standard definition of provisional sum but it is generally understood to refer to an amount inserted into a bill of quantities, or contract sum analysis, to cover certain items of work that cannot be accurately defined, detailed or valued at the time that the tendering documents are issued by the employer. This could be because the item of work may not be required or the extent/scope of it is undefined—for example, if the contract works include excavation or underground work that cannot be properly investigated until the project has commenced. It is called a ‘provisional’ sum because neither party is held to the figure—the actual figure may be higher or lower than the provisional sum stated. In Midland Expressway v Carillion Construction, the Court of Appeal described a provisional sum as: 'used in pricing construction contracts to refer either to work which is truly provisional, in the sense that it may or may not be carried out at all, or to work whose content is undefined, so that the parties decide not to