Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the Lord Justice Jackson review on fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence claims.

In January 2017 the Department launched a consultation on proposals to fix/limit the costs recoverable by claimant lawyers in lower value clinical negligence cases. The Department published a holding response to the consultation on 25 July 2017, so as to allow the Department time to reflect the recommendations made by the Right Honourable Lord Justice Jackson following his review in to fixed costs, published on 31 July.

Lord Justice Jackson’s report includes a recommendation for the Civil Justice Council (CJC) and the Government to set up a working party to develop a new process for clinical negligence initially up to £25,000 alongside a new fixed costs regime.

Departmental ministers have agreed with this recommendation, as referenced in the recent Public Accounts Committee 29 November 2017, and the Department is now preparing the final response to the consultation for publication. The publication dates will be decided according to standard Government processes.

The CJC are independent of the Department and will publish details of the working party as recommended by Lord Justice Jackson in due course.