Government to raise small claims limit to £1,500 for EL and PL personal injury claims in April 2022

The Government has confirmed that it intends to increase the small claims track limit for personal injury arising out of employers’ and public liability claims from £1,000 to £1,500 from April 2022.

In a statement to the House of Lords, Lord Wolfson, the Under-Secretary of State for Justice confirmed that following discussions with appropriate stakeholders, a more modest increase had been agreed.

Initial proposals had called for the small claims track limit for EL and PL injury claims to be increased to £2,000. These plans had faced opposition from claimant representatives, insurers and unions due to the complexity of issues often seen in EL and PL claims in comparison to road traffic claims.

In terms of the timescale for implementation, Lord Wolfson confirmed that whilst this change remains a priority for the Government, the successful introduction of the whiplash reforms remains the short-term aim. Therefore, the implementation of this increase will be paused for 12 months, giving “affected stakeholders additional time to prepare for the increase in April [2022].”

The full statement can be found here.