Civil Liability Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-11-20
Topic: Mixed Topics
Richard Keen (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, with the leave of the House—or as the House leaves—I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendments 1 to 6 The Civil Liability Bill will provide effective measures to tackle the continuing high number and cost of whiplash claims, which will lead to lower insurance premiums for ordinary motorists. It will also create a better system for setting the personal injury discount rate I should like to take this opportunity to thank noble Lords for their contributions and insightful scrutiny, which have already shown during previous debates how the Bill can be strengthened and improved The Commons amendments we are considering today were all brought forward by the Government in the other place. Amendment 1 introduces a requirement for the Lord Chancellor to consult the Lord Chief Justice before setting the tariff. This amendment was introduced to meet a commitment made to this House and, in particular, to the noble and learned Lords, Lord Judge and Lord Hope, at Report It remains the Government’s firm view that it is the Lord Chancellor who should set an appropriate and proportionate tariff through regulations. This enables the Government to ensure that damages remain proportionate and continue to disincentivise unmeritorious claims, but following reflection on the helpful points made by this House during debates in Committee and at Report, the Government agreed that there is merit in the Lord Chancellor seeking the input of the Lord Chief Justice before setting or amending the tariff. This will provide the judiciary with a formal route by which to comment on the level of damages for whiplash injuries. Consulting the Lord Chief Justice allows the views of the judiciary to be reflected in the setting of the tariff, as well as by way of the uplift in exceptional circumstances Amendment 2 corrects a drafting omission. The amendment clarifies, but does not change, our intent in regard to Clause 5. Clause 5 enables the Lord Chancellor to provide in regulations that the court may increase the amount awarded under the tariff in circumstances which it considers to be exceptional. The amendment adds the words "or injuries" to Clause 5(7)(a), and merely reflects that the amount of compensation specified in the tariff can relate to either a single injury or two or more injuries. This is consistent with the language used elsewhere in the Bill. This amendment makes no material change to the provisions of the Bill, but provides necessary clarification and consistency Amendments 3, 4 and 5 have arisen from previous debates, when noble Lords raised concerns about whether insurers would stand by their commitment to pass on the benefits arising from the Bill. Recognising the concerns raised by noble Lords and those in the other place, the Government amended the Bill in Committee in the other place to provide for an effective means for insurers to demonstrate that savings arising from the Bill have been passed on to consumers. This is the new Clause 11, as introduced by Amendment 3 I am confident that Clause 11 allows the Government to hold insurers to account against their public commitment to pass on savings from the Bill in a rigorous but proportionate way, without risking anti-competitive or overly interventionist practices. The clause was developed after intensive and careful consultation with insurers, accountants, auditors and regulators.