Under English civil litigation, if a witness summons is served by the court but is not accompanied by an offer to compensate for expenses or lost time, is the summons still invalid?

No, a witness summons served by the court is not invalid if it is not accompanied by an offer to compensate for expenses or lost time. However, the witness may be able to apply to the court for an order that they be paid their expenses and lost time. The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) state that a witness summons must be accompanied by an offer to pay the witness's reasonable expenses and loss of earnings. However, there is an exception to this rule if the court is satisfied that the witness is unlikely to be able to claim their expenses or lost time. In practice, most witness summonses are accompanied by an offer to pay the witness's expenses and lost time. However, if a witness summons is not accompanied by such an offer, the witness may still be required to attend court. If the witness does attend court, they may be able to apply to the court for an order that they be paid their expenses and lost time. The court will consider a number of factors when deciding whether to make an order for payment of expenses and lost time, including the witness's financial circumstances, the length of time they were required to attend court, and the inconvenience they suffered. If you are a witness who has been served with a witness summons, and you are not sure whether you will be paid your expenses and lost time, you should speak to a lawyer.