Time to settle?

The Justice Select Committee is to be congratulated for causing the government to think more carefully about its proposed reforms to the discount rate. As a consequence we now have a commitment to call for more evidence, for further research and analysis by the Government Actuary Department (GAD) and to involve the expert panel at the first review, not just three years down the line. At the same time the Lord Chancellor is now committed to providing a far fuller explanation of the reasons for setting any new rate(s), including publishing the experts’ report and impact assessments. To ensure these commitments are not forgotten Schedule A1 to the Civil Liability Bill requires careful scrutiny and amendment, as for instance, it only requires publication of such information as the Lord Chancellor thinks appropriate.

We also have a clearer commitment for the review to consider differential rates, which ought to lead to lower rates for earnings-related heads of loss. Post Thompstone v Tameside