Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the level of the compensation tariff for whiplash in line with inflation.

The Civil Liability Act 2018 allows the Lord Chancellor to set fixed compensation tariff amounts for whiplash injuries from road traffic accidents lasting two years or less. The tariff amounts were first set via the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, and the Civil Liability Act 2018 requires the tariff to be reviewed every three years.

The first statutory review was completed on 22 May 2024. The Lord Chancellor’s report of the review was published on 21 November 2024. The report concluded that the original whiplash tariff amounts should be increased by roughly 15% to account for the impact of inflation since the tariff was introduced on 31 May 2021, and to include a three-year buffer to account for projected inflation until the next review in 2027.

This increase to the whiplash tariff will be implemented by the draft Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which was laid in Parliament on 20 March 2025. Subject to approval from both Houses, the new tariff will apply to relevant whiplash injuries that occur on or after 31 May 2025.