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A north-west law firm has been rebuked after paying more than £200,000 to an unauthorised claims management company for personal injury referrals. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has been dogged by questions over the effectiveness of its response to the ban on PI referral fees since it became law in 2013.

It might be a New Year with a new justice secretary, but there’s work to do if 2018 isn’t going to result in the same old story when it comes to legal reform. In recent times the personal injury sector has been hit by a battery of changes, and all-too often our response has been unclear or even apologetic. Yet the cumulative impact on our firms and especially on those we seek to assist has been obvious. It is time we learned from our experiences and tried a different approach.

There has been a “significant decrease” in unauthorised businesses operating in the holiday sickness market, the Claims Management Regulator has reported. It comes as MPs debate the government’s surprise u-turn late last year to legislate for a ban on cold-calling.

Justice minister Lord Keen said today that if the government’s personal injury reforms lead to greater involvement by “good” claims management companies, it could be “beneficial” for the market. He told MPs on the justice select committee this morning that the market was “extremely adaptable and flexible”.

The Ministry of Justice yesterday laid out the extensive work being done to prepare for the increase in the personal injury small claims limit, including how it might work with the planned online court. It shows that, despite the continuing silence over when the Civil Liability Bill will be published, considerable work is going on behind the scenes.