The government is to establish a regulatory consulting group incorporating all major stakeholders in the personal injury claims process, the Compensation Bill minister Bridget Prentice told the insurance industry this week.
Speaking at Insurance Times' Future of Personal Injury Claims Conference, Prentice also said that the final report on the draft Legal Services Bill would be published before 25 July.
Prentice assured the conference that the Legal Services Bill would fill the gaps in the current regulation. But she emphasised: "We don't want regulation for regulation's sake".
Meanwhile, draft rules were published by the Department for Constitution Affairs last week outlining how the claims regulator will operate. Consultation on the draft framework is expected to last until 29 August.
' The government has confirmed that it is to make a statement on its proposals to speed up the process of compensation for mesothelioma victims within weeks.
Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform Jim Murphy told the House of Commons: "The current situation is unacceptable.
I understand that the average time taken to process and pay a claim is longer than the post-diagnosis life expectancy of mesothelioma sufferers, which is clearly unacceptable."
' See next week's issue for the full report on the Future of Personal Injury Claims conference
