Scotland adopts -0.75% discount rate - Faculty statement

 

The discount rate for personal injury awards in Scotland has been lowered from 2.5 per cent to minus 0.75 per cent, reflecting the same change south of the Border which was announced last month by the Lord Chancellor.

Scottish Ministers announced that they had made an order to set the new rate. The order will come into effect tomorrow (28 March).

The Vice-Dean of Faculty, Angela Grahame, QC, said: “The Lord Chancellor’s  announcement about the change in the discount rate was dramatic and unexpected, but it is no surprise that Scottish Ministers have decided that here in Scotland, too, the new rate will apply.  The change will have a significant impact on all practitioners who work in the field of personal injury.  Schedules of Damages and advice on values of claims from both sides of the fence could be radically revised in light of this. The Faculty’s Training Committee is discussing an event to consider the implications of this seismic shift.“