Derek McDowell (Labour)

The section requires that copies of all correspondence between the claimant and the person or those persons with regard to the claim be provided to the board. If an effort has been made in correspondence, typically involving a solicitor at an early stage, to settle a claim or from an assessor in an insurance company, who might offer an amount of money without prejudice or without accepting the claim, the amendment provides that this correspondence should not be discoverable by the board because it would inevitably prejudice the board. Typically, without prejudice correspondence is correspondence in which an offer is made but where it is not intended to be binding and can, effectively, be taken off the table.