Bills to create an online court and introduce controversial reforms on whiplash will be brought forward in the next two years, the Queen’s speech has confirmed.
Whiplash reforms—banning offers to settle without medical evidence and introducing fixed rates of compensation for whiplash injuries lasting up to two years—were contained in the Prison and Courts Bill, dropped due to lack of time prior to the election. The new Civil Liability Bill will aim to crack down on fraudulent whiplash claims and reduce motor insurance premiums.
Brett Dixon, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (Apil), said: ‘The government continues to fire at the wrong target.
‘Insurers are already making savings of £500m a year since the costs in personal injury claims were slashed in 2013. Meanwhile, the cost of motor repairs has risen by almost a third and the insurance premium tax rate has doubled.’
The Courts Bill aims to furnish the courts and tribunal system with more modern technology, and is likely to include an online court. It aims to provide a ‘better working environment’ for judges, greater flexibility in terms of deployment and more fixed term leadership positions within the judiciary. It also ends the ordeal for domestic abuse victims of being cross-examined by their ex-partners in the family court.
The Queen’s speech made specific mention of the residents of Grenfell Tower, and announced that in future an independent public advocate will be appointed to act for bereaved families after a disaster and support them at any subsequent inquest.
Bills to establish a commissioner to stand up for victims of domestic abuse, ban landlords from charging letting fees, tighten up regulation of claims companies, provide better protection for innocent third parties who buy a car subject to a logbook loan and introduce a right to ‘be forgotten’ into data protection laws will also be brought forward.
However, a large part of the government’s legislative programme—eight of the 27 Bills—concerns Brexit. There will be a Repeal Bill, and Bills relating to trade, customs, immigration, agriculture, fisheries, nuclear safeguards and sanctions.
Charles Brasted, partner at Hogan Lovells, said: ‘The government's intended approach in the no-longer-Great Repeal Bill is confirmed in the Queen's Speech—providing for continuity based on existing EU law by default as far as possible, and likely doing so en bloc rather than item by item.
‘The Repeal Bill will provide the domestic legal framework for Brexit and do much of the heavy lifting. It is noteworthy that the government's plans for the Immigration Bill are described as "allowing for" the repeal of EU law on immigration, including free movement, that would otherwise be incorporated into UK law by the Repeal Bill. This perhaps deliberately raises the prospect that any such changes will come some time after Brexit.
‘These enabling or framework Bills may well confer powers on ministers to develop the detail as secondary legislation. Parliament is likely to be more vociferous than ever in demanding scrutiny of substantial policy changes, a demand that will no doubt rub up against the increasing urgency of legislation as Brexit approaches.’
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