Secretary of State for Justice (): I would like to announce
that I have completed my report of the first statutory review of
the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 (the Regulations).
Part 1, Section 3 of the Civil Liability Act provides for the
Lord Chancellor to set a tariff of damages for whiplash injuries
of up to two years in duration and to make regulations to do so.
Section 4 of the Act requires the Lord Chancellor to review
regulations made under Section 3 within three years of
implementation.
In summary I have decided to:
- maintain the existing split structure of the tariff (whiplash
only and whiplash plus minor psychological injury) and to provide
additional guidance on defining minor psychological injury;
- uprate the tariff by around 15% to account for actual
Consumer Price Index inflation to May 2024 and for forecasted
inflation to May 2027 - the likely date of the next review;
- keep the allowable judicial uplift for exceptional injuries
or circumstances at its current level of up to 20% of the tariff
award; and
- make no changes to the definitions on what constitutes
appropriate medical evidence and who may provide it for the
purposes of the ban on seeking/making an offer to settle a
whiplash claim without evidence.
As per the requirements of the Act, I will today lay a report
with more information on the review, its conclusions and the next
steps in the House libraries. I will also shortly commence a
consultation on these decisions with the Lady Chief Justice and
will provide further information on the implementation timetable
in due course.
