Draft Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Patricia Gibson Excerpts

Monday 4th March 2019 General Committees

[Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) (SNP)]

I will keep my remarks brief. Everybody will appreciate that the draft regulations are very important to protect motorists. In fact, they are far too important to be considered with just over three weeks until Brexit. Once again, it is a pity that we find ourselves scrambling at the last minute to bring in some damage limitation.

The UK Government’s retention of EU policy in so many areas is a testament to the regulatory excellence of the arrangements we already have, which some people in this Parliament would like to reject. I ask the Minister to offer reassurance on some concerns that have been expressed. The main point—I know it has been made, but it is important—is that the Department for Transport and the Motor Insurers Bureau must work together to ensure that bilateral agreements are in place with EEA countries, in order to guarantee that UK residents who have the misfortune to be injured abroad in road traffic accidents continue to have a straightforward route to justice.

As we have heard, currently when a UK national is injured in a road traffic accident in the EEA and the injury is caused by another’s negligence, the injured person can pursue a claim in the UK in their own language, with a local solicitor. After the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, any such UK resident will have to make their claim in the country in which the injury occurred.

It is obvious how that could create difficulties for UK citizens, since there may well be language barriers. A solicitor would need to be found and any such claimant would need to pay for their legal advice and representation, which may not be recoverable. They may need to visit the country in which the accident took place in order to fully pursue the claim, with all the extra costs that may be incurred. For far too many people with legitimate claims, that may be prohibitively expensive. Depending on the severity of the injuries suffered, it may not even be possible. There is also concern that such claims may take many years to be heard, never mind settled. What reassurance can the Minister offer for those concerns?

I am sure the Minister will understand that confidence in this Government has been profoundly shaken with regard to Brexit-related transport issues, given the cancelling of the boatless ferry firm Seaborne Freight. The fact that a ferry firm with no boats could ever have been awarded a ferry contract has left many deeply concerned about post-Brexit transport issues, which I am sure he will understand.