Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 30 April (HL Deb, col 857), to what period the “huge progress on child poverty” refers.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
I issued a letter of correction on 9 May 2019 explaining that my reference to children moving out of poverty since 2010 should have been a reference to the number of children in workless households. There are now 665,000 fewer children in workless households compared with 2010. A copy of my letter has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 22 May (HL7648), how many claims for road traffic accident related personal injuries there were in 2017–18, excluding unmeritorious claims.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The term ‘unmeritorious claims’ is used by the Government to refer to a broad group of claims, which includes those where there is very little evidential basis to support the claim for injury and claims in which there has been some degree of exaggeration of injury, as well as outright fraudulent claims. The term fraud is narrower and usually refers to claims were there has been a deliberate attempt to defraud over aspects of the claim.
The Government does not collate data on unmeritorious claims, as their nature makes them difficult to accurately identify. In 2017-2018 there were around 650,000 RTA related personal injury claims registered in the UK. There are however, industry statistics available which indicate that in 2016 around 69,000 fraudulent motor insurance claims, worth £780m, were identified.
Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 22 May (HL7648), what is the difference between their definitions of fraud and unmeritorious claims.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The term ‘unmeritorious claims’ is used by the Government to refer to a broad group of claims, which includes those where there is very little evidential basis to support the claim for injury and claims in which there has been some degree of exaggeration of injury, as well as outright fraudulent claims. The term fraud is narrower and usually refers to claims were there has been a deliberate attempt to defraud over aspects of the claim.
The Government does not collate data on unmeritorious claims, as their nature makes them difficult to accurately identify. In 2017-2018 there were around 650,000 RTA related personal injury claims registered in the UK. There are however, industry statistics available which indicate that in 2016 around 69,000 fraudulent motor insurance claims, worth £780m, were identified.
Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is an independent analysis of the annual total cost or cost per case to insurers contesting whiplash personal injury claims; and whether they intend to publish any such evidence.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The MoJ’s impact assessment on the whiplash reforms sets out the analysis the Government has used to estimate the £35 savings for insurance premiums. The impact assessment was informed by DWP’s Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) data on the overall volume of claims and data from across the industry with more detailed information on these claims which shows estimated savings of £1.3bn to insurers. Assuming 85% is passed on to consumers, this translates, on average, to a £35 reduction per policy. Link to the impact assessment can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0090/whiplash-IA.pdf.
Data from the Department of Work and Pensions shows that there were around 650,000 road traffic accident-related personal injury claims made in 2017/18, a rise of nearly 200,000 or 40% on the figure in 2005/06. Department of Transport figures show that in the decade to 2016/17, reported road traffic accidents went down from around 190,000 to 135,000, a fall of 30%.
The Government does not collate fraud data, as the nature of fraud makes it difficult to accurately identify the number of unmeritorious claims, meaning that not all fraud is detected. In 2016, however, the insurance industry identified around 69,000 cases of motor insurance claims which they considered to be fraudulent, worth £780m.
The Government’s whiplash reform programme is about more than dealing with fraudulent and exaggerated claims, as the cost to all motorists from the high number and cost of these claims is too high. The Government’s reforms will reduce the incentives for making unmeritorious claims, and encourage defendants to rightly challenge claims they believe to be fraudulent or exaggerated, but without disadvantaging genuine claimants.
The information related to the cost of insurers contesting whiplash claims is commercially sensitive and as such cannot be published.
Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what independent evidence they have that fraudulent claims are being made in respect of (1) road traffic claims by motor vehicle drivers, (2) road traffic claims by vulnerable road users, and (3) those injured in workplace accidents; and whether they intend to publish any such evidence.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The MoJ’s impact assessment on the whiplash reforms sets out the analysis the Government has used to estimate the £35 savings for insurance premiums. The impact assessment was informed by DWP’s Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) data on the overall volume of claims and data from across the industry with more detailed information on these claims which shows estimated savings of £1.3bn to insurers. Assuming 85% is passed on to consumers, this translates, on average, to a £35 reduction per policy. Link to the impact assessment can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0090/whiplash-IA.pdf.
Data from the Department of Work and Pensions shows that there were around 650,000 road traffic accident-related personal injury claims made in 2017/18, a rise of nearly 200,000 or 40% on the figure in 2005/06. Department of Transport figures show that in the decade to 2016/17, reported road traffic accidents went down from around 190,000 to 135,000, a fall of 30%.
The Government does not collate fraud data, as the nature of fraud makes it difficult to accurately identify the number of unmeritorious claims, meaning that not all fraud is detected. In 2016, however, the insurance industry identified around 69,000 cases of motor insurance claims which they considered to be fraudulent, worth £780m.
The Government’s whiplash reform programme is about more than dealing with fraudulent and exaggerated claims, as the cost to all motorists from the high number and cost of these claims is too high. The Government’s reforms will reduce the incentives for making unmeritorious claims, and encourage defendants to rightly challenge claims they believe to be fraudulent or exaggerated, but without disadvantaging genuine claimants.
The information related to the cost of insurers contesting whiplash claims is commercially sensitive and as such cannot be published.
Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Keen of Elie on 24 April (HL Deb, col 1480), on what independent evidence they have concluded that a compensation culture exists in personal injury for (1) road traffic claims by motor vehicle drivers, (2) road traffic claims by vulnerable road users, and (3) those injured in workplace accidents; and whether they intend to publish that evidence.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The MoJ’s impact assessment on the whiplash reforms sets out the analysis the Government has used to estimate the £35 savings for insurance premiums. The impact assessment was informed by DWP’s Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) data on the overall volume of claims and data from across the industry with more detailed information on these claims which shows estimated savings of £1.3bn to insurers. Assuming 85% is passed on to consumers, this translates, on average, to a £35 reduction per policy. Link to the impact assessment can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0090/whiplash-IA.pdf.
Data from the Department of Work and Pensions shows that there were around 650,000 road traffic accident-related personal injury claims made in 2017/18, a rise of nearly 200,000 or 40% on the figure in 2005/06. Department of Transport figures show that in the decade to 2016/17, reported road traffic accidents went down from around 190,000 to 135,000, a fall of 30%.
The Government does not collate fraud data, as the nature of fraud makes it difficult to accurately identify the number of unmeritorious claims, meaning that not all fraud is detected. In 2016, however, the insurance industry identified around 69,000 cases of motor insurance claims which they considered to be fraudulent, worth £780m.
The Government’s whiplash reform programme is about more than dealing with fraudulent and exaggerated claims, as the cost to all motorists from the high number and cost of these claims is too high. The Government’s reforms will reduce the incentives for making unmeritorious claims, and encourage defendants to rightly challenge claims they believe to be fraudulent or exaggerated, but without disadvantaging genuine claimants.
The information related to the cost of insurers contesting whiplash claims is commercially sensitive and as such cannot be published.
Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what independent evidence there is that the Civil Liability Bill will meet their objective of reducing the average cost of a motor insurance policy by £35.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The MoJ’s impact assessment on the whiplash reforms sets out the analysis the Government has used to estimate the £35 savings for insurance premiums. The impact assessment was informed by DWP’s Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) data on the overall volume of claims and data from across the industry with more detailed information on these claims which shows estimated savings of £1.3bn to insurers. Assuming 85% is passed on to consumers, this translates, on average, to a £35 reduction per policy. Link to the impact assessment can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2017-2019/0090/whiplash-IA.pdf.
Data from the Department of Work and Pensions shows that there were around 650,000 road traffic accident-related personal injury claims made in 2017/18, a rise of nearly 200,000 or 40% on the figure in 2005/06. Department of Transport figures show that in the decade to 2016/17, reported road traffic accidents went down from around 190,000 to 135,000, a fall of 30%.
The Government does not collate fraud data, as the nature of fraud makes it difficult to accurately identify the number of unmeritorious claims, meaning that not all fraud is detected. In 2016, however, the insurance industry identified around 69,000 cases of motor insurance claims which they considered to be fraudulent, worth £780m.
The Government’s whiplash reform programme is about more than dealing with fraudulent and exaggerated claims, as the cost to all motorists from the high number and cost of these claims is too high. The Government’s reforms will reduce the incentives for making unmeritorious claims, and encourage defendants to rightly challenge claims they believe to be fraudulent or exaggerated, but without disadvantaging genuine claimants.
The information related to the cost of insurers contesting whiplash claims is commercially sensitive and as such cannot be published.
Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have that insurers own or have financial interests in claims companies; and whether they intend to publish any such evidence.
Answered by Lord Bates
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for monitoring and regulating the insurance industry.
The Treasury does not investigate the financial interests of insurers, nor does it hold this information.
Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the percentage change in Child Tax Credit, and its predecessor Family Tax Credit, between (1) 1987 and 1991, (2) 1992 and 1997, (3) 1998 and 2003, and (4) 2004 and 2009.
Answered by Lord Bates
There was no single rate of support payable to claimants of Family Credit, Working Families’ Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit over these time periods. Claimants were entitled to a number of different elements and support was tapered by income which resulted in variable amounts being received.
Asked by: Baroness Primarolo (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the percentage change in Child Benefit for (1) the first child, and (2) each subsequent child, between (a) 1987 and 1991, (b) 1992 and 1997, (c) 1998 and 2003, and (d) 2004 and 2009.
Answered by Lord Bates
The table below shows the percentage changes in Child Benefit rates for the first child and each subsequent child between, (a) 1987 and 1991, (b) 1992 and 1997, (c) 1998 and 2003, and (d) 2004 and 2009, below.
Date | First Child | Subsequent Children | |
Couple | Lone Parent | ||
|
|
|
|
1987-1991 | 13.8% | 15.9% | 0.0% |
1992-1997 | 14.5% | 10.3% | 15.4% |
1998-2003 | 40.2% | 2.6% | 15.6% |
2004-2009a | 21.2% | 14.0% | 19.5% |
|
|
|
|
Notes: |
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The rates compared in each year correspond to on or around the 6th of April. | |||
aOn 06/07/98, the separate rate for lone parents was abolished for new claimants, who now receive the same rate as couples. The rates shown after this date, therefore, applied to existing claimants only. Therefore, the differentiated rates for couples and lone parents in 2004 have been compared against the singular rate for the claimant's first child seen in 2009. | |||