Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to more effectively regulate claims management companies.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
A number of reforms have or are being made to strengthen the effectiveness of regulation of claims management companies (CMCs). These include a ban on CMCs offering financial rewards or similar benefits to potential claimants as an inducement to make a claim; the publication of CMCs under investigation and subject to enforcement action; key changes to the conduct rules to ensure that claims are substantiated before being pursued and any data received through telemarketing is legally obtained; the appointment of the first two independent non-executive board members to the executive-led Claims Management Regulation Board to provide a greater element of external challenge; expanding the Regulator’s enforcement tools with a new power to impose financial penalties for conduct breaches; and bringing consumer complaints against CMCs within the remit of the Legal Ombudsman. The Government is committed to improving the ability to root out and punish bad practices by CMCs, better protect the consumers who use their services or are subjected to their marketing practices; and to help organisations that are on the receiving end of high volumes of unsubstantiated claims.
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance he gives to the courts on the disqualification of drivers who have accumulated over 12 points on their driving licence.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The vast majority of drivers who get 12 or more penalty points are fined and disqualified from driving. Under Section 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, disqualification for a minimum of six months must be ordered if an offender incurs 12 penalty points or more within a three-year period, unless the court finds that the period of the totting up disqualification should be reduced or avoided for exceptional hardship or other mitigating circumstances. The minimum period may be automatically increased if the offender has been disqualified within the preceding three years.
The Secretary of State for Justice does not issue guidance to courts on the exercise of this discretion. The Sentencing Council, which operates independently of Government, issues guidelines to the courts on sentencing; their “Magistrates Courts Sentencing Guidelines” deal with totting up disqualification. These Guidelines state that: “The period of a totting up disqualification can be reduced or avoided for exceptional hardship or other mitigating circumstances. No account is to be taken of hardship that is not exceptional hardship or circumstances alleged to make the offence not serious. Any circumstances taken in account in the preceding three years to reduce or avoid a totting disqualification must be disregarded.” It is made clear in the Guidelines that magistrates should consult their legal advisor for further guidance on exceptional hardship applications.
The Government is committed to ensuring that penalties reflect the seriousness and culpability of offending behaviour and wants to ensure that we are doing everything we can to keep our roads safe. This is why we have brought forward Government amendments in the Courts and Criminal Justice Bill specifically to deal with disqualified drivers who cause death or serious injury: to increase the maximum penalty for disqualified drivers who cause death, from 2 to 10 years' imprisonment; and introducing a new offence of causing serious injury by driving while disqualified, with a maximum penalty of 4 years' imprisonment.
We have also announced our intention to launch a full review of driving offences and penalties, to ensure people who endanger lives and public safety are properly punished.
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to increase the penalties for uninsured drivers.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
Sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for our independent courts and they must follow sentencing guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council.
The Government announced on 12 May this year that it intends to carry out a review of the offences and maximum penalties available for a range of driving offences. This will include offences involving uninsured drivers.
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to reduce the statute of limitations for whiplash claims.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The Government considered the recommendation to reduce the three year limitation period for soft tissue personal injury claims made by the Transport Committee in its whiplash report of 15 July 2013. While the recommendation was not taken forward at that time, the Government remains committed to cutting the cost of whiplash and is willing to consider proposals that will achieve that aim.
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations his Department has received on reducing the statute of limitations on whiplash claims since May 2010.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The Government considered the recommendation to reduce the three year limitation period for soft tissue personal injury claims made by the Transport Committee in its whiplash report of 15 July 2013. While the recommendation was not taken forward at that time, the Government remains committed to cutting the cost of whiplash and is willing to consider proposals that will achieve that aim.
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations his Department has received on increasing penalties for uninsured drivers since May 2010.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Ministry of Justice, along with the Department for Transport, receives a large number of representations from members of the public and members of Parliament on driving offences, including those involving uninsured drivers. Identifying individual representations on uninsured drivers could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.
On 16 August 2013 the fixed penalty for driving without insurance was increased from £200 to £300.
The Government announced on 12 May this year that it intends to carry out a review of the offences and penalties available for a range of driving offences. This will include offences involving uninsured drivers.
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many instances of car insurance fraud in Yorkshire and the Humber have been reported in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karen Bradley
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
This information is not held centrally.
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many instances of car insurance fraud have been reported in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karen Bradley
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
This information is not held centrally.
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases of car insurance fraud have been reported, by region, in each of the last five years.
Answered by Karen Bradley
I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Department.
This information is not held centrally.
Asked by: David Ward (Liberal Democrat - Bradford East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of how many claim management companies operated in each region since 2008.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
With rigorous new measures being brought in across the board, we are taking strong action to rein in the rogue firms operating in this sector.
Continued action to remove licenses from companies with poor practices alongside forthcoming Claims Management Regulation reforms, proves just how much work is going on to get tough on companies that defy the rules and bombard the public with unwelcome calls and misleading information.
We are changing the law to further toughen the regime, including introducing fines, and ensuring firms cannot buy in any contact details which have been gathered unlawfully.
The number of claims management companies (CMCs) operating in each region between April 2008 and April 2014 were as follows:
Regional Analysis | Apr-08 | Apr-09 | Apr-10 | Apr-11 | Apr-12 | Apr-13 | Apr-14 |
East | 107 | 134 | 165 | 173 | 146 | 138 | 114 |
East Midlands | 56 | 97 | 131 | 139 | 152 | 137 | 120 |
London | 253 | 378 | 545 | 531 | 524 | 444 | 340 |
Northern Ireland | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
North East | 30 | 71 | 95 | 98 | 76 | 68 | 49 |
North West | 514 | 685 | 784 | 803 | 775 | 706 | 576 |
Overseas | 6 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 13 |
Scotland | 21 | 26 | 30 | 32 | 28 | 29 | 33 |
South East | 193 | 294 | 358 | 370 | 361 | 326 | 267 |
South West | 62 | 81 | 100 | 113 | 113 | 100 | 93 |
Wales | 61 | 73 | 95 | 81 | 101 | 88 | 66 |
West Midlands | 206 | 321 | 408 | 404 | 358 | 292 | 208 |
Yorkshire & Humbers | 230 | 316 | 366 | 387 | 329 | 245 | 176 |