Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made in reducing the abuse of personal injury whiplash claims for incidents involving motor vehicles.

The Government’s whiplash reforms in recent years have included improving the independence and quality of whiplash medical reports through the introduction of the MedCo system in 2015, as well as reducing and fixing the cost of those reports.

In February this year, following consultation, the Government announced further reforms to help bear down on the number and cost of claims. Those reforms that require primary legislation will be introduced through a Civil Liability Bill which was announced in the Queen’s Speech. They are:

• the introduction of a fixed tariff of compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity for whiplash claims with a duration of up to two years; and

• banning the practice of seeking or offering to settle such claims without medical evidence.

In addition, secondary legislative rule changes will bring the vast majority of whiplash claims into the small claims track.