Falls cost Welsh councils £13m
- Published: 06 August 2008 12:37
- Author: Simon Ellery
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 19 August 2008 15:45
Welsh local authorities have paid out more than £13m to settle claims for damages from people tripping on pavements.
The figures for selected councils were obtained by Clwyd West AM Darren Millar under the Freedom of Information Act.
Mr Miller, who has warned the bill for all 22 authorities could be almost double the sum, called for more help from the assembly government to tackle a maintenance backlog on pavements and highways.
The details have been reported in the Daily Post.
Mr Miller said: "Taxpayers have been forced to shoulder an eye wateringly large bill for compensation. It is money that would otherwise be spent on frontline local services, which are themselves facing severe cutbacks."
Cardiff Council revealed that it has settled more than 1,000 claims since 1996 at a cost of £7.2m, which equates to an average of around £6,500 a claim.
But the council successfully fought 2,218 of the 3,313 claims for trips, slips or falls on pavements.
Shadow local government minister AM Nick Ramsey called on ministers to work with councils to ensure they have adequate resources to meet their obligations to council taxpayers.
"This includes adequate funding for repairs to highways and pavements to help reduce the number of compensation claims we have seen in recent years," he said.
