Whither Cost Committees?

A distant Cost Committee hearing (10 am on Monday morning, they don’t let up do they) meant no new post here yesterday. This was a new venue and again the differences in approach between regions are striking.
I am now firmly of the opinion that CCs are not the place for Contract Compliance appeals to be resolved. Its not that I don’t trust other Legal Aid suppliers to make fair judgements, such people would have to be involved in any replacement, it strikes me however that CCs are a body designed for a different age. If anyone out there is interested I’ll expand on these thoughts in greater detail however I thought I’d try and elicit some comments on the issue first. I’d be especially keen on views from CC members who I am sure must share some of our frustrations.
Two quick points to get the ball rolling;
There is no procedural rulebook and the Contracts have tried to keep pace by piecemeal amendment.
All the key precedents, bar a couple of recent ones, relate to a time when appeals dealt with a single file provisionally assessed down – not sums of money which could potentially bankrupt firms.
There is plenty more I could say but lets here your experiences in the comments box.