220. (1) Section 8 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by substituting “Subject to subsection (3), where” for “Where”, and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(3) This section does not apply to a clinical negligence action within the meaning of Part 2A.”.

(2) Section 17 of the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), by substituting “Subject to subsection (6A), the” for “The”, and

(b) by inserting the following subsection after subsection (6):

“(6A) This section does not apply to a clinical negligence action within the meaning of Part 2A if an offer to settle the claim had, before the bringing of the action, been made by any party to the action in accordance with the pre-action protocol.”.

(3) The Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 is amended by inserting the following section after section 17:

“Pre-action offers of settlement in clinical negligence claims

17A. (1) In a case of an action to which section 17 does not apply by virtue of subsection (6A) of that section, a copy of the offer of settlement shall be lodged in court by, or on behalf of, the party by which it was made.

(2) The terms of the offer of settlement shall not be communicated to the judge in the trial of the clinical negligence action until after he or she has delivered judgment in the action.

(3) The court shall, when considering the making of an order as to the payment of the costs in the action, have regard to—

(a) the terms of the offer of settlement, and

(b) the reasonableness of the conduct of the party by whom the offer was made in making the offer.

(4) This section is in addition to and not in substitution for any rule of court providing for the payment into court of a sum of money in satisfaction of a cause of action or the making of an offer of tender of payment to the other party or parties to an action.”.