On 27 September 2019, the government actuary, Martin Clarke, published his review and determination of the personal injury (PI) discount rate in Scotland. His decision is for no change, sticking to the -0.75% discount rate even though the methodology for setting the rate has changed. He comments that had he been applying the former methodology under the Damages Act 1996, in line with the approach set down by the House of Lords in Wells v Wells [1999] AC 345, [1998] All ER (D) 352, then the discount rate would now be either -1.5% or -2%.
The new methodology for calculating the PI discount rate in Scotland is set out in the Damages (Investment Returns and Periodical Payments) (Scotland) Act 2019 (the Act), which received royal assent on 24 April 2019. Not only was this a departure from the Wells v Wells approach, but it also contains a number of material differences from the
