Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 July to Question 161536, whether the Government plans to provide additional (a) staff and (b) resources to respond to a potential increase in the number of claims going to trial in the small claims track as a result of proposed changes to the small claims limit.

The vast majority of road traffic accident related personal injury claims currently settle pre-court, and there is no reason to suggest that this will change following implementation of the reforms. In addition, we are working with stakeholders from across the sector to develop help and guidance to support litigants in person when the new rules are implemented in April 2020. This includes the introduction of a new accessible pre-court IT platform which will enable genuinely injured claimants to bring forward and settle their claims quickly and effectively.

Information on the potential impacts of the reforms, including on HMCTS, is provided in the Impact Assessment published 20 March 2018. The Impact Assessment is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/720954/whiplash-impact-assessment.pdf.