Whiplash: Increase included ‘buffer’ to next review
The 15% uplift in the fixed fees for whiplash cases will take effect from 31 May, the fourth anniversary of the Official Injury Claim portal, justice minister Sarah Sackman announced yesterday.
Meanwhile, an initial review of the extended fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime has been postponed until later in the year due to the paucity of cases to date.
The tariff increase follows publication last November of the first statutory review of the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, which recommended the increase to reflect inflation since the tariff was introduced in 2021 and include a ‘buffer’ to take account of predicted inflation until the next review in 2027.
It will apply to injuries suffered from 31 May.
Claimant representatives said the rise was not enough, while compensators and their lawyers – despite having argued for no increase at all – actually admitted that it was lower than they had expected.
The statutory instrument laid yesterday is subject to the affirmative procedure, meaning both Houses of Parliament have to approve it. This should happen over the next month or so.
Sue Brown, the chair of the Motor Accident Solicitors Society, said: “An increase in the tariff to accommodate the high inflation in recent years will be much welcomed by claimants, and it is good to know that the new tariff rates will apply from 31 May 2025.
“We do though still think that the tariff system is deeply flawed and look forward to setting out views in detail as part of the forthcoming review of the Civil Liability Act and the wider reforms.”
In February 2024, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) asked the Ministry of Justice to report back a year later to review the extended FRC scheme – which came into force on 1 October 2023 – and suggest any amendments needed following experience in practice.
According to the newly published minutes of the CPRC’s February meeting, the Ministry of Justice proposed postponing this to June 2025, but acting Senior Costs Judge Rowley had suggested even this may be premature.
A discussion “cemented the view that too few cases were yet flowing through the courts” and so the CPRC decided the stocktake would be postponed, provisionally, until October 2025.
The committee noted too that the Ministry of Justice was also planning a separate, general post implementation review of the extended FRC regime in 2026.
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