Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021: Publication of the Lord Chancellor’s Review

I would like to announce that I have completed my report of the first statutory review of the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 (the Regulations).

Part 1, Section 3 of the Civil Liability Act provides for the Lord Chancellor to set a tariff of damages for whiplash injuries of up to two years in duration and to make regulations to do so. Section 4 of the Act requires the Lord Chancellor to review regulations made under Section 3 within three years of implementation.

In summary I have decided to:

maintain the existing split structure of the tariff (whiplash only and whiplash plus minor psychological injury) and to provide additional guidance on defining minor psychological injury;uprate the tariff by around 15% to account for actual Consumer Price Index inflation to May 2024 and for forecasted inflation to May 2027 - the likely date of the next review;keep the allowable judicial uplift for exceptional injuries or circumstances at its current level of up to 20% of the tariff award; andmake no changes to the definitions on what constitutes appropriate medical evidence and who may provide it for the purposes of the ban on seeking/making an offer to settle a whiplash claim without evidence.As per the requirements of the Act, I will today lay a report with more information on the review, its conclusions and the next steps in the House libraries. I will also shortly commence a consultation on these decisions with the Lady Chief Justice and will provide further information on the implementation timetable in due course.