Whiplash Reform - Part 2 Consultation Published

The government has published Part II of the whiplash consultation this morning.

The full title is Part 2 of the Government Response to: Reforming the Soft Tissue Injury (‘whiplash’) Claims Process: A consultation on arrangements concerning personal injury claims in England and Wales

The consultation is essentially a response to the original call for evidence, in November 2016, which included a series of questions on ‘the provision of temporary vehicles on credit hire terms.’ The CHO issued a response to the consultation which included a number of questions posed about credit hire business models

And a question asking for ideas on reforming the sector

Question 23: What (if any) further suggestions for reforms would help the credit hire sector, in particular, to address the behaviours exhibited by participants in the market?
Please provide the factors that should be considered and why. 

Having considered all the responses, the MoJ has concluded that, while they will keep the sector under review, there are no plans to reform the current system. In its conclusion, ministers state:

• Since the Government consulted on this topic, work has continued within the industry on reinforcing and revising the voluntary GTA. As well as the GTA many of those operating in the sector have also developed specific streamlined agreements to enable the credit hire process to work effectively for claimants.
• The Government is therefore of the view that the best approach would be to continue to work with the key stakeholders in this sector to monitor and improve the use of industry agreements, including the GTA. Further consideration will also be given to whether it would be beneficial to make the use of such agreements’ mandatory in the future. It should however be noted that further action on this point is subject to alignment with future Government priorities as it would require a suitable primary legislative vehicle and Parliamentary time to progress. 

Peter Gomes, interim CEO of the CHO said: “This is very welcome news for our members. Members are facing significant challenges as a result of the pandemic, Brexit and associated supply chain issues, and further market intervention from the government at this time would have been a serious concern, especially as the whole claims industry continues to grapple with the most recent set of reforms (on whiplash) and have further changes to absorb with regard to reform to the fixed recoverable costs regime.”

Peter added: “We are pleased that ministers have listened to us and decided against further action. It will enable our members to focus on bedding in the current reforms, and making sure they can devote their energy to providing their customers with mobility as the UK economy emerges from the pandemic.”

“We will of course continue to engage positively with MoJ and other industry stakeholders to make sure the market continues to operate in the best interests of customers requiring our members help after a non-fault accident.”