Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
(: I would like
to provide an update on next steps for the Whiplash Reform
Programme.
The government remains firmly committed to implementing these
measures which are intended to control the number and cost of
whiplash claims. Under the Programme, we will increase the small
claims track limit for road traffic accident related personal
injury claims to £5,000; as well as introduce a fixed tariff of
damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity for whiplash
injuries, and a ban on the making or accepting of offers to
settle a whiplash claim without a medical report.
The government indicated on 27 February 2020 that after careful
consideration it had decided to implement the whiplash reforms in
August 2020. However, it is apparent that the current Covid-19
pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the medical, legal
and insurance sectors. While the whiplash reform measures remain
important, the government is committed to acting to ease the
disruption and pressures caused by the Covid-19 outbreak where it
can.
As a result, the government has considered representations from
key stakeholder groups and agrees that now is not the time to
press ahead with significant transformational change to the
personal injury sector.
We have therefore decided to delay the implementation of the
whiplash reform programme to April 2021. This will enable key
sectors of this country’s business to focus their energies on
delivering their response to Covid-19, and will allow the
government to focus on delivering key services in the justice
area during this difficult time.
The government will continue to monitor developments in relation
to the current pandemic and will, if necessary, make further
announcements in regard to the implementation of these important
reforms.
