Derek McDowell (Labour)

Yes. Somebody who intends to make a claim generally goes to a solicitor in the first instance. If there are preliminary negotiations with an insurance company and there is correspondence which discloses an offer being made, generally from the insurance company to the claimant, under this section the correspondence would have to be submitted to the board. The normal process in a court case is that correspondence which is expressed to be without prejudice is not discovered. The intention behind that is to allow people to negotiate without prejudicing any court case that might subsequently occur or any assessment that subsequently takes place. It is essentially a device to encourage settlement. The assessment of the board would or could be prejudiced in circumstances where that correspondence had to be submitted.