Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 on recoverable costs in medical negligence cases.

The fixed recoverable cost regime is seeking to streamline claims for clinical negligence, focusing on what is required for a fair and proportionate resolution and encouraging a process that is more resource efficient and that incentivises the right behaviours by all parties. It extends the benefits of fixed cost regimes already realised in other areas of personal injury, as recommended by Lord Justice Jackson,and is not about the number of claims being brought.