Settling compensation claims relating to potholes and highways costs Liverpool Council £2m a year.
Around 550 liability claims are made to the local authority every year according to a report to go before its cabinet on Friday. The council’s executive team is considering the document as it gives permission to city solicitor Dan Fenwick to negotiate and settle any outstanding claims of £250,000 or more on its behalf.
This would bypass the need to consult members of the council on such decisions and provide Mr Fenwick autonomy over settling claims. The cabinet report detailed how, on average, it receives 600 relevant liability claims each year.
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Of the 550 relating to highway liability claims, half of them are “ low value property damage claims such as burst tyres” while the remaining are “personal injury claims of varying values.” Liverpool Council also receives a small number of employer liability cases, some school claims and about 30 public liability claims, of which its claims and insurance team settle around 150 per year.
The report said predominantly “highway claims where our inspection and repair system has failed and statutory liability attaches.” As a result, the cost of settling the cases sets the cash-strapped local authority £2m annually and £13,330 per case.
The council’s claims team caseload is currently about 900 active cases, at varying degrees of completion. Should the cabinet agree to grant authority to Mr Fenwick, the Liberal Democrats - the largest opposition group at the Town Hall - will seek to call-in the decision.
Cllr Andrew Makinson, the group’s deputy leader, said: “If the council are regularly making pay-outs of £250,000 or more, then councillors and the public have a right to know when and why this is happening. This council has already got away with giving away millions of pounds to property developers, the last thing we need is even less oversight of how council tax payers’ money is spent.”
The report said: “All officers who deal with claims require authority to negotiate and settle claims on a daily basis to enable us to comply with legal protocols and deal with cases in a timely manner. This enables officers to achieve best value settlements and reduces potentially higher cost implications caused by delayed settlements.”
