BEagle, I agree wholeheartedly.
I believe that it is the responsibility of the student’s instructor to ensure that the student has met the requirements prior to submitting the student for test.
However the examiner has an even greater responsibility. He/she should undertake a detailed examination of all of the paperwork to ensure that every last piece is in order and that every single requirement has been met and can clearly be seen to have been met. After all we have around an hour, whilst the student is preparing for the nav section of the Skill Test, in which to undertake this task. Most of us charge around £150 for the test and the student should expect value for his money. After the student has passed the Skill Test the examiner has a further responsibility to ensure that the student is absolutely clear about what paperwork should be submitted with the application.
I feel that I have failed in my duty as an examiner if there is any legitimate query from the CAA about a PPL application from a student whom I have tested. I have developed my own simple PPL application checklist, based on the one that the CAA used to provide for the CAA PPL, which I utilise to ensure that I have not overlooked anything and which I suggest that the student submits as part of his/her application since it clearly identifies the fulfilment of each of the requirements for the PPL.