Following a review conducted this year, the Lord Chancellor has announced that the Personal Injury Discount Rate (PIDR) in England and Wales will increase from -0.25 per cent to +0.5 per cent with effect from 11 January 2025.
The PIDR is used in serious personal injury cases where damages are paid as a lump sum but are intended to meet an injured person's needs over many years. Such damages should put the injured person back in the same position as they were before they were injured, as far as possible: the PIDR is therefore set at a level which, in the Lord Chancellor's view, most reasonably reflects the likely rate of return from investing the lump sum.
Under the Damages Act 1996, it is the duty of the Lord Chancellor to set the PIDR in England and Wales. The Act was amended by the Civil Liability Act 2018, requiring a review to be conducted every five years.
The rate in Scotland and Northern Ireland is also +0.5 per cent, having increased (from -0.75 per cent in Scotland and -1.5 per cent in Northern Ireland) on 27 September.
A statement of reasons explaining how the PIDR was decided can be found on the Government's website.
