The Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Information Provision and Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
- Department: Department of Health and Social Care
- Made under: Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003
- Applies to: England, Wales
Increased the tariffs for NHS injury cost recovery and mandated that insurers provide patient NHS numbers to facilitate claim processing.
These Regulations increase the financial charges that the Secretary of State can recover from compensators for NHS hospital treatment and ambulance services provided to injured persons.
The instrument applies to insurers and other persons liable for personal injury compensation in England and Wales, requiring them to provide an injured person's 10-digit NHS number when submitting claims information.
It directs the Compensation Recovery Unit to collect these increased tariffs—including a new maximum cap of £66,173—for injuries occurring on or after 1st October 2026, and mandates the inclusion of NHS numbers in information exchanges starting 6th April 2027.
Arguments For
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) states that uprating charges in line with Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) inflation maintains the real-terms value of income recovered by the NHS.
Proponents argue that requiring the provision of NHS numbers will reduce the number of "no traces," where trusts cannot match patient records to claims. The DHSC estimates this could recover up to £17 million annually in previously lost revenue.
The Explanatory Memorandum reports that the majority of consultation respondents supported the NHS number requirement as a way to improve the efficiency of the Injury Cost Recovery (ICR) Scheme and reduce administrative burdens.
The department asserts that the 1st October 2026 implementation date for the tariff increase aligns with the Common Commencement Date, while the delayed April 2027 date for NHS number reporting allows insurers time to update IT systems.
Arguments Against
Some consultation respondents noted that the requirement to provide NHS numbers will result in increased costs for insurers and necessitate changes to internal IT infrastructure.
There is a potential for increased costs to be passed on to consumers; the DHSC acknowledges that insurance premiums could rise, estimating a possible 0.01% increase in motor insurance policies to cover the tariff uplift.
Legal scholars or affected parties might note that while the provision of an NHS number is only required "where known," the regulations also authorize the Compensation Recovery Unit to request this data from specific persons, potentially increasing the compliance burden on compensators.
Citation, commencement and extent
- 1.-(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Information Provision and Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.
- (2) Subject to paragraph 3, these Regulations come into force on 1st October 2026.
- (3) Regulation 2 comes into force on 6th April 2027.
- (4) These Regulations extend to England and Wales.
This section establishes the official name of the regulations and defines their geographical reach as England and Wales.
It sets a dual commencement schedule: the updated financial charges take effect on 1st October 2026, while the new data reporting requirements regarding NHS numbers begin on 6th April 2027.
Amendment of the Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (General) and Road Traffic (NHS Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2006
2.-(1) The Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (General) and Road Traffic (NHS Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2006(3) are amended as follows.
(2) In regulation 1(3) (citation, commencement, application and interpretation)-
- (a) for"1977(3)." substitute "1977(3);";
- (b) after the definition of "hospital" insert-
""NHS number" means the number, consisting of 10 numeric digits, which serves as the national unique identifier used for the purpose of safely, accurately and efficiently sharing information relating to a registered patient across the whole of the health services in England and Wales;".
(3) In regulation 2(1)(b) (application for a certificate of NHS charges), after "number" insert "and NHS number".
(4) In regulation 5(3) (information to be provided in relation to an injured person), after subparagraph (c) insert the following sub-paragraph-
"(ca) the NHS number of the injured person;"
This section introduces the 'NHS number' as a formal data requirement in the injury cost recovery process.
It requires persons applying for a certificate of NHS charges or providing information about an injured person to include this 10-digit identifier.
These amendments aim to standardize how patient information is shared between insurers and the health service.
Amendment of the Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) Regulations 2015
3 In the Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) Regulations 2015(4), in Schedule 1 (Amount of NHS Charges), for the existing table, substitute the following table-
"Amount of NHS Charges
| (1) | (2) Ambulance Services £ | (3) Out-patient £ | (4) In-patient £ | (5) Maximum £ | |-------------------|----------------------------|---------------------|--------------------|-----------------| | 29th January 2007 | 159 | 505 | 620 | 37,100 | | 1st April 2008 | 165 | 547 | 672 | 40,179 | | 1st April 2009 | 171 | 566 | 695 | 41,545 | | 1st April 2010 | 177 | 585 | 719 | 42,999 | | 1st April 2011 | 181 | 600 | 737 | 44,056 | | 1st April 2012 | 185 | 615 | 755 | 45,153 | | 1st April 2013 | 189 | 627 | 770 | 46,046 | | 1st April 2014 | 192 | 637 | 783 | 46,831 | | 1st April 2015 | 195 | 647 | 796 | 47,569 | | 1st April 2016 | 201 | 665 | 817 | 48,849 | | 1st April 2017 | 205 | 678 | 833 | 49,824 | | 1st April 2018 | 208 | 688 | 846 | 50,561 | | 1st April 2019 | 219 | 725 | 891 | 53,278 |
| (1) | (2) Ambulance Services £ | (3) Out-patient £ | (4) In-patient £ | (5) Maximum £ | |------------------|----------------------------|---------------------|--------------------|-----------------| | 1st April 2020 | 224 | 743 | 913 | 54,566 | | 1st April 2021 | 225 | 744 | 915 | 54,682 | | 1st April 2022 | 231 | 766 | 941 | 56,260 | | 1st April 2023 | 238 | 788 | 968 | 57,892 | | 2nd October 2023 | 243 | 806 | 991 | 59,248 | | 1st April 2024 | 249 | 825 | 1,014 | 60,610 | | 1st October 2024 | 256 | 848 | 1,042 | 62,272 | | 1st October 2025 | 267 | 883 | 1,085 | 64,856 | | 1st October 2026 | 272 | 901 | 1,107 | 66,173".
This section replaces the previous schedule of costs with a new table of tariffs for injuries occurring on or after 1st October 2026.
The new rates increase ambulance charges to £272, daily in-patient rates to £1,107, and the total cap per injury to £66,173.
These charges are legally recoverable from any person or insurer who pays compensation for the relevant injury.
Revocation
- 4 The Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) (Amendment) Regulations 2025(5) are revoked.
This section formally cancels the 2025 version of these regulations.
This ensures that the 2026 tariffs and rules become the sole active requirements for injuries occurring from 1st October 2026, preventing legal overlap between different sets of amendment regulations.
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