hfd - I agree about the absurdity of the 'dummy skill test' observed by the FIE!
My last one cost £200 to the Examiner, the hire of the aircraft and £300 to the CAA.... I really don't think that can be justified at PPL level.
The 180 turn and radnav fix should not, in my opinion, form part of the diversion. Novice PPLs should divert before entering cloud, ideally from an obvious ground fix from which to draw their route on the map. The diversion should initially be entirely visual; however, once the applicant has come up with an estimated time and heading, I will let them use radnav to continue with the diversion if they wish. This is a good time also (if your aircraft has GPS) to allow them to prove they can use it - and if the applicant's estimnates have been reasonably accurate, it gives them a huge confidence boost to show the same dtk and eta on the GPS!