The HSE has been forced to dramatically restructure its procedure for appealing against Fee for Intervention bills in order to overcome a High Court legal battle scheduled for 8 March.

As part of the restructure the HSE has agreed for the first time to disclose its evidence and reasoning to dutyholders, and to appoint a new adjudication panel of independent experts.

The HSE has negotiated the terms of the reform with facilities firm OCS Group who originally brought the judicial review. The terms are set out in a legally binding “consent order” issued by the High Court on 23 February.

The consent order outlines six terms that the regulator must comply with and stipulates that the new procedure must be in place by 1 September 2017.

The HSE has announced plans to consult on proposal to make its cost recovery scheme dispute process fully independent. The consultation will relate to the details of the process, or possible additional requirements to the outlined scheme.