Pleading in England and Wales is covered by the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).
Formal proceedings should be preceded by an initial exchange of correspondence in accordance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Protocols.
mediation and legally binding offers to resolve are also strongly encouraged and the applicable rules are set out within CPR.
Such exchanges are not technically part of the pleading process, and parties are not encouraged to take points on any discrepancy between pre-action correspondence and the formal statements of case.
Their function is to facilitate out-of-court approaches to resolving the dispute, or identifying the issues that divide the parties.
This statement of value is more administrative in purpose: it is generally used by the Court and other parties to gain an idea of the size of the case and how it should be administered (its "track").
The amount stated does not limit any award that the Court may decide to grant, or any other remedies that may be given, when the case is heard.
[4] Part 16 of the Civil Procedure Rules and its accompanying Practice Direction (CPR PD 16) govern the content of the claim form (equivalent to a Summons) and statements of case.