ATE Blog
Rumour Mill
28th September, 2012
Howdee.
We have been hearing various rumours on several subjects. Who knows, some of them may be true. Thought I would share them with you.
First up are the Jackson reforms - we have heard a rumour that the implemenatation date may be about to change to October 2013.
How likely is this rumour to be correct? Well, it was being circulated at a MASS conference recently so I think it should be taken with a pinch of salt however, you never know, there may be some truth in it. Let's see.
We have the recent reshuffle which will have caused some delay with ministers and junior ministers having to get up to speed. We also have the issue of the portal and the fact that the MoJ wanted it to apply to non-motor claims and for this implementation to take place at the same time as the Jackson reforms. Well - they aren't ready and are not going to be so, either the extension of the portal happens later or....
Another pointer to this rumour are the detailed rules themselves. Still no sign of them. This does not mean that they can't be finalised before April but as time ticks by, the ability to produce them and allow comments and amendments before the deadline becomes less likely. We also have Christmas in between of course.
Ok - next rumour - the small claims court limit changes. There is supposed to be a consultation happening on this and the results will need to be analysed then er, ignored and a limit set. What will that limit be? Well we have heard whispers that it may be set to £2,500. Why? Well this is what the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority limit will be from next month i.e. if you have a claim for compensation under this sum then you can't claim it from the Government. You could of course launch your own Small Claims court case against the offender - so it would be useful if the limits lined up wouldn't it?
Another pointer to the rate not being raised to the full £5,000 was the recent report indicating that the Small Claims Court system was struggling a bit with volume (mainly due to those pesky litigants in person not know what they were doing so clogging everything up!). Not a good idea then to throw another 100,000 claims into the process.
Final rumour - we may be about to expand again - far too much work coming in. Watch this space...
I thank you.
We have been hearing various rumours on several subjects. Who knows, some of them may be true. Thought I would share them with you.
First up are the Jackson reforms - we have heard a rumour that the implemenatation date may be about to change to October 2013.
How likely is this rumour to be correct? Well, it was being circulated at a MASS conference recently so I think it should be taken with a pinch of salt however, you never know, there may be some truth in it. Let's see.
We have the recent reshuffle which will have caused some delay with ministers and junior ministers having to get up to speed. We also have the issue of the portal and the fact that the MoJ wanted it to apply to non-motor claims and for this implementation to take place at the same time as the Jackson reforms. Well - they aren't ready and are not going to be so, either the extension of the portal happens later or....
Another pointer to this rumour are the detailed rules themselves. Still no sign of them. This does not mean that they can't be finalised before April but as time ticks by, the ability to produce them and allow comments and amendments before the deadline becomes less likely. We also have Christmas in between of course.
Ok - next rumour - the small claims court limit changes. There is supposed to be a consultation happening on this and the results will need to be analysed then er, ignored and a limit set. What will that limit be? Well we have heard whispers that it may be set to £2,500. Why? Well this is what the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority limit will be from next month i.e. if you have a claim for compensation under this sum then you can't claim it from the Government. You could of course launch your own Small Claims court case against the offender - so it would be useful if the limits lined up wouldn't it?
Another pointer to the rate not being raised to the full £5,000 was the recent report indicating that the Small Claims Court system was struggling a bit with volume (mainly due to those pesky litigants in person not know what they were doing so clogging everything up!). Not a good idea then to throw another 100,000 claims into the process.
Final rumour - we may be about to expand again - far too much work coming in. Watch this space...
I thank you.
