THE numbers are staggering. In the last two financial years, Scotland’s councils have been left with a bill of more than £7.2million in compensation pay-outs, with new figures showing Glasgow City Council alone paid out £1,537,964. The total bill amounted to £11,000 every day.
The pay-outs divide into two main areas: firstly, personal injury claims for incidents such as falling over kerbs, and, secondly, drivers hitting potholes and damaging their cars. But, whatever the reasons, Scotland’s councils cannot afford to be paying out compensation at this level. In 2016-17, the local government revenue settlement fell by £349million in cash terms, meaning a reduction of more than half a billion once inflation is taken into account. That means every pound spent on compensation is a pound that could have mitigated the cuts by being spent on local services.
What makes matters worse is that the compensation bill has been largely avoidable – indeed, there have been warnings for years that reductions in government and council spending on infrastructure are a false economy as the savings end up costing individuals, businesses and councils more in the long term. Councils have taken a make-do and mend approach, with predictable consequences.
There are other factors at play, principally an undeniable change in public attitudes over the years. A member of the public who is hurt now is much more likely to sue than they might have been 20 years ago and councils must guard against this trend and remain on the look-out for frivolous claims.
However, the compensation bill will only be significantly reduced when the overall standards of roads and streets is improved and that means serious, long-term investment by councils and the Scottish Government. It will mean more spending now, but it will save much more later, as well as help build a reliable, modern road network that everyone can rely on.
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