So now we know the true position in terms of the data on which the Government relies upon to support their reforms to low value personal injury claims, is neither strong or stable (as reported in the Gazette).

I dare say that this headline news does not come as much of a surprise to anyone within the personal injury field of work as many have long held the view that the planned reforms were not "evidence based” but driven and paid for by the motor insurance lobby.

This latest news came to light from a report by Defendant firm Weightmans, having made a freedom of information request to  the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for compensation recovery unit data held by them,  which was denied.

The basis for the DWP to decline the request was that civil servants 'no longer have the expertise in the Compensation Recovery Unit to produce robust data'.

This beggars the question, if the Governments own department responsible for producing this information is unable to provide "robust data”, what data has the Government been relying upon to pursue these reforms to combat the perceived "compensation culture”?

Perhaps the reality is that these reforms are nothing more than an attempt by the Government, at the behest of their insurance paymasters to reduce claims and increase profits for the insurers who fund them?

Any chance of a further Government U-turn on this? Don’t count on it!