Senior Courts Of England And Wales Citation, commencement and interpretation 1 1 These Rules may be cited as the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2021 and come into force on 31st May 2021. 2 In these Rules, a reference to a Part or rule by number alone means the Part or rule so numbered in the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 . Amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 2 The Civil Procedure Rules 1998 are amended in accordance with rules 3 to 9 of these Rules. Amendment of Part 14 3 1 In the list of contents at the beginning of Part 14, for the entry in the first column for rule 14.1B, substitute— “ Admissions made under the RTA Protocol, the EL/PL Protocol or the RTA Small Claims Protocol ” . 2 In rule 14.1B— a for the heading to the rule, substitute— “ Admissions made under the RTA Protocol, the EL/PL Protocol or the RTA Small Claims Protocol ” ; b in paragraph (1), after “(‘the RTA Protocol’)”, for “or” substitute “ , ” ; and c after “(‘the EL/PL Protocol’)”, insert “or the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents (‘the RTA Small Claims Protocol’)”; d in paragraph (2)(a)(i), before “during the initial consideration”, insert “ where the RTA Protocol or the EL/PL Protocol applies, ” ; and e after paragraph (2), insert— 2A Where the RTA Small Claims Protocol applies, the defendant's admissions may be withdrawn pursuant to paragraph 8.9 of that Protocol. . Amendment of Part 16 4 In rule 16.3— a in paragraph (3), for “In a claim”, substitute “ Subject to paragraph (3A), in a claim ” ; b after paragraph (3), insert— 3A Where— a a claim for personal injuries arises from a road traffic accident which occurs on or after 31st May 2021; and b rules 26.5A, 26.6A or 26.6B do not apply to that claim, the claimant must state in the claim form whether the amount which the claimant expects to recover as general damages for pain suffering and loss of amenity is— i not more than £5,000; or ii more than £5,000. 3B ‘Road traffic accident’ has the meaning ascribed to it by rule 26.6(2A). . Amendment of Part 26 5 1 In the list of contents at the beginning of Part 26, after the entry for rule 26.6, insert— Road traffic accident related personal injury claims Rule 26.6A Children and protected parties Rule 26.6B . 2 In rule 26.3(1), for “If a defendant”, substitute “ Subject to rule 26.5A, if a defendant ” . 3 In rule 26.5(1), for “The court”, substitute “ Subject to rule 26.5A, the court ” . 4 After rule 26.5, insert— 26 1 This rule applies where— a the parties have followed the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents; and b proceedings have been started under Practice Direction 27B. 2 Subject to paragraph (3), where this rule applies, the claim shall be treated as allocated to the small claims track when it is issued and rules 26.3, 26.4 and 26.5 will not apply. 3 Where in any claim started or continued under Practice Direction 27B— a the appropriate court form states that— i the amount claimed is more than £10,000; or ii the claim for personal injury damages is more than £5,000; or b rule 26.6A applies, a court officer must refer the claim to a judge for allocation to a track and to give directions. . 5 In rule 26.6— a for paragraph (1)(a)(ii), substitute— ii the value of any claim for damages for personal injuries is not more than— aa £5,000 in a claim for personal injuries arising from a road traffic accident, except as provided in sub-paragraph (bb); bb £1,000 in a claim for personal injuries arising from a road traffic accident, in any of the circumstances specified in rule 26.6A; or cc £1,000 in any other claim for personal injuries; . b after paragraph (2), insert— 2A ‘Road traffic accident’ means an accident resulting in a bodily injury to any person caused by, or arising out of, the use of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place in England and Wales unless the injury was caused wholly or in part by a breach by the defendant of one or more of the relevant statutory provisions as defined by section 53 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 . ; c after rule 26.6, insert— Road traffic accident related personal injury claims 26 The circumstances referred to in rule 26(1)(a)(ii)(bb) are— a the accident occurred before 31st May 2021; b unless rule 26.6B applies, on the date that proceedings are started, the claimant is— i a child; or ii a protected party; c when the accident occurred, the claimant was— i using a motor cycle; ii a pillion passenger on, or a passenger in a sidecar attached to, a motor cycle; iii using a wheelchair, a powered wheelchair or a mobility scooter ; iv using a bicycle or other pedal cycle; v riding a horse; or vi a pedestrian; d unless rule 26.6B applies, on the date that proceedings are started— i the claimant is an undischarged bankrupt; or ii the claimant or defendant acts as a personal representative of a deceased person; or e unless rule 26.6B applies, on the date of the accident, the defendant's vehicle was registered outside the United Kingdom. Children and protected parties 26 1 The fast track is the normal track where a claim— a is for personal injuries arising from a road traffic accident which occurs on or after 31st May 2021; b is made by— i a child or a protected party; or ii a person who, on the date the claim was first presented via the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents, was a child; and c consists of, or includes, a claim for a whiplash injury. 2 Where this rule applies, the claim must not be allocated to the small claims track. 3 ‘Whiplash injury’ has the meaning ascribed to it by paragraph 1.2(38) of the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents. . 6 In rule 26.7, for “under rule 26.6”, substitute “ under rules 26.6, 26.6A or 26.6B ” . Amendment of Part 27 6 In rule 27.2 ...— a in paragraph (2), after “to the extent that a rule”, insert “ or a practice direction under this Part ” ; and b after paragraph (2), insert— 2A A rule or practice direction may, in relation to a specified type of small claim — a require or permit the use of the procedure set out in this Part; and b disapply or modify any of the rules set out in this Part .... . Amendment of Part 35 7 In rule 35.4— a For paragraph (3C), substitute— 3C In a claim for a whiplash injury, whether or not it is part of a claim for other injuries— a permission— i may normally only be given for one expert medical report in respect of the claim for the whiplash injury; and ii may not be given initially unless the medical report is a fixed cost medical report; and b where the claimant seeks permission to obtain a further medical report in respect of the claim for the whiplash injury only, the report must be a fixed cost medical report if the report is from a medical expert in any of the following disciplines— i Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon; ii Consultant in Accident and Emergency Medicine; iii General Practitioner registered with the General Medical Council; or iv Physiotherapist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. 3D Where, in respect of a claim for a whiplash injury, the claimant lives outside England and Wales, but chooses to be examined in England or Wales, paragraph (3C) applies. 3E Where the claimant obtains a medical report in respect of a more serious injury suffered on the same occasion as the whiplash injury, the claimant may be given permission to use that report instead of a fixed cost medical report under paragraph (3C) provided that— a the report is from a doctor who is listed on the General Medical Council's Specialist Register; and b the report provides evidence of the whiplash injury. 3F Unless paragraph (3D) applies, where, in respect of a claim for a whiplash injury— a the claimant lives outside England and Wales; b permission is given for a medical report, the medical report (or, if there is more than one report, the first report) must be obtained from a person who is recognised by the country in which they practise as— i being a medical expert; and ii having the required medical qualifications for the purposes of diagnosis and prognosis of a whiplash injury. 3G In this rule— a in respect of a soft tissue injury claim, ‘fixed cost medical report’ and ‘soft tissue injury claim’ have the meanings ascribed to them by paragraph 1.1(10A) and (16A), respectively, of the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents; and b in respect of a claim for a whiplash injury, ‘fixed cost medical report’ and ‘whiplash injury’ have the meanings ascribed to them by paragraph 1.2(17) and (38), respectively, of the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents. . Amendment of Part 45 8 1 In the list of contents to this Part, after the entry for rule 45.29L, insert— IIIB THE PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL FOR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS BELOW THE SMALL CLAIMS LIMIT IN ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS Failure to comply with, or electing not to continue under, the RTA Small Claims Protocol Rule 45.29M Claims which do not continue under the RTA Small Claims Protocol Rule 45.29N . 2 In rule 45.19— a in paragraph (2A), after “soft tissue injury claim”, insert “ , or a claim which consists of, or includes, a claim for a whiplash injury, ” ; b in paragraph (2E)— i for “and ‘soft tissue injury claim’”, substitute “, ‘soft tissue injury claim’ and ‘whiplash injury’”; and ii for “and (16A)”, substitute “ (16A) and (20) ” . 3 In rule 45.29I— a in paragraph (2A), after “soft tissue injury claim”, insert “ , or a claim which consists of, or includes, a claim for a whiplash injury, ” ; and b in paragraph (2E)— i for “and ‘soft tissue injury claim’”, substitute “, ‘soft tissue injury claim’ and ‘whiplash injury’”; and ii for “and (16A)”, substitute “ (16A) and (20) ” . 4 After rule 45.29L, insert— IIIB PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL FOR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS BELOW THE SMALL CLAIMS LIMIT IN ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS Failure to comply with, or continue under, the RTA Small Claims Protocol 45 1 This rule applies where the claimant— a does not comply with the process set out in the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents (“the RTA Small Claims Protocol”); or b either— i elects not to continue with that process; ii elects not to proceed with that process having been notified by the defendant pursuant to paragraph 6.15(4)(b) of the RTA Protocol that if proceedings were issued, the small claims track would be the normal track for that claim, and starts proceedings under Part 7 which are not allocated to the small claims track. 2 Where a judgment is given in favour of the claimant, but— a the court considers that the claimant acted unreasonably— i by valuing the overall claim at more than £10,000 or the claim for damages for injury at more than £5,000, so that the claimant did not need to comply with the RTA Small Claims Protocol; ii by electing not to proceed under the RTA Small Claims Protocol, following notification pursuant to paragraph 6.15(4)(b) of the RTA Protocol; or iii in any other way that caused the process in the RTA Small Claims Protocol to be discontinued; or b the claimant did not comply with the RTA Small Claims Protocol at all despite the claim falling within the scope of the Protocol, the court may order the defendant to pay no more than the fixed costs together with disbursements allowed in accordance with paragraphs 1.13 and 1.14 of Practice Direction 27B. Claims which do not continue under the RTA Small Claims Protocol 45 1 This rule applies where— a a claim has been started under the RTA Small Claims Protocol, but no longer continues under that Protocol; and b the claim has not subsequently proceeded under the RTA Protocol. 2 Where this rule applies, Section IIIA will apply as though the claim had started under the RTA Protocol, except where— a the court makes an order under rule 45.29M; b the claim no longer continues under the RTA Small Claims Protocol because either the claimant or defendant becomes a protected party as defined in rule 21.2(2). . Amendment of Part 46 9 In rule 46.14, after paragraph (1), insert— 1A This rule does not apply to a dispute to which the procedure under section 10 of Practice Direction 27B applies. . The Right Honourable Sir Geoffrey Vos, MR Lord Justice Birss Mr Justice Kerr Mr Justice Trower His Honour Judge Bird His Honour Judge Jarman QC Master Cook Isabel Hitching QC Tom Montagu-Smith QC Dr Anja Lansbergen-Mills Masood Ahmed Brett Dixon David Marshall Lizzie Iron John McQuater I allow these Rules Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor David Wolfson Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice Ministry of Justice