§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what monitoring has taken place on the Personal Injury Pre-action Protocol. [86519]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonTo assess pre-action behaviour and the effect of the protocols, the Civil Justice Council and the Law Society jointly commissioned research by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and the University of Westminster. The report, "More Civil Justice?", which was published on 25 April 2002, focused on three specific areas of dispute: personal injury, clinical negligence and housing disrepair. The study found that in all three areas there was evidence of a culture change and better communication between opposing sides, which has increased the number of claims settling without going to court.
The report included a number of recommendations that are being considered by the Personal Injury Working Party in the comprehensive review of the protocol that it is currently conducting.