The purpose of The Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 is to increase the charges recoverable by the NHS for an injury which occurs on or after 1st April 2021 under the NHS Injury Cost Recovery Scheme (ICR Scheme).
Under the ICR Scheme charges are recoverable from persons who pay compensation to a person for an injury where that injured person receives NHS hospital treatment or ambulance services.
Hospitals have been able to recover the cost of treating victims of road traffic accidents for more than 70 years. The arrangements for this were streamlined and modernised through the provisions of the Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999. The Law Commission for England and Wales consulted in 1996 on whether the process of recovery of NHS costs should take place in all cases where people claim and receive personal injury compensation for injuries that require NHS hospital treatment. The majority of respondents were in favour. Part 3 of the 2003 Act made provision for the establishment of a scheme, known as the NHS Injury Cost Recovery Scheme. The Regulations governing the operation of the expanded scheme came into force on 29 January 2007.
There are three sets of Regulations:
The Principal Regulations consolidated, but did not materially amend, previous regulations. The Principal Regulations also revised charges in line with inflation. The amounts recoverable under the ICR Scheme from 1st April each year are specified in the table in Schedule 1 to the Principal Regulations. This instrument increases the amounts recoverable in respect of injuries occurring on or after 1st April 2021. This instrument also revokes the Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2020.
