Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release, Justice Secretary unveils new bill to cut car insurance premiums, published on 20 March 2018, what steps his Department is taking to improve transparency in the system when calculating the personal injury discount rate.

A number of measures have been included in the Civil Liability Bill to ensure that the discount rate is set fairly and transparently in future. These include a requirement for the Lord Chancellor to consult an independent expert panel when determining the rate. In addition, the Lord Chancellor must give reasons for the determination made and publish such information about the expert panel’s response to consultation as he or she considers appropriate. This will include the panel’s report to the Lord Chancellor.

The government has also committed, in its response to the Justice Select Committee’s report, to publishing an impact assessment of the effect that a change in the discount rate will have each time it is changed.