Personal injury lawyers are refusing to play ‘deal or no deal games’ with the government over fixed fees for smaller cases.

The government has written to all stakeholders asking them to suggest a limit for the value of claim that solicitors should be able to charge through the RTA Portal.

The scheme currently fast-tracks cases valued at up to £10,000, but the Ministry of Justice wants to extend that limit to £25,000 and widen the scope to employer’s and public liability cases.

Deborah Evans, chief executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, told the Gazette that her group will not respond to the request for specific figures. ‘It’s not about a "deal or no deal" game - governments should make evidence-based decisions, not put their finger in the air and come up with a figure,’ she said.

APIL was one of several groups invited to meet justice minister Jonathan Djanogly last month to discuss the government’s plans. It is believed Djanogly is keen to establish a compromise figure, but claimant groups say this is impossible without independent analysis of small claims.

‘[Djanogly] has a preset idea that every case is whiplash,’ said Evans. ‘Cases up to £25,000 are very difficult and need medical reports.’ Evans said that extending the portal to employer’s and public liability cases poses several difficulties, not least establishing liability.

Prime minister David Cameron made it clear earlier this year that he expects the current £1,200 fee limit for the portal to be reduced, following talks with insurance, consumer and business groups. He said the insurance industry had committed to adjusting car insurance premiums to reflect any reduction in legal costs.

Nick Starling, director of the Association of British Insurers, told the APIL conference in Newport last week that this promise still stands. ‘In a competitive environment where [insurance companies] are fighting very hard against each other it would be commercial suicide not to pass on savings to customers,’ he said.