Julian Chamberlayne provides an update on the current position on the discount rate, & analyses the recent call for evidence
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) closed its call for evidence on the discount rate at the end of January. The evidence will inform the lord chancellor on his discount rate review which was triggered this week. He has 140 days to set the new rate, which will be in place by 5 August 2019.
The call for evidence
The bulk of the call for evidence was directed at financial advisers and investment managers in an attempt to ascertain claimant investment behaviour. This is to inform the lord chancellor’s decision-making because under s 4(5) of the Civil Liability Act 2018 (CLA 2018) he must have regard to actual returns available, actual investments made by investors of damages, and make appropriate allowances for tax, inflation and investment management costs.
On behalf of Forum of Complex Injury Solicitors (FOCIS), I submitted a detailed response to address several misconceptions in the call for evidence and to provide data on the cost of investment advice incurred
