Council pays out £872,000 in compensation

Rochdale Borough Council has paid out £872,000 in compensation

Rochdale Borough Council has paid out £872,371 in compensation in the last two years, a 'Freedom of Information' request by the Tax Payer's Alliance has revealed.

The Rochdale figure compares with a national average of £256,000 paid out by council's in the past two years. However, neighbouring Oldham and Bury paid out more than Rochdale - Oldham paid out £932,774 and Bury £1,109,187.

The largest number of payouts by Rochdale Council were for 'slip, trip and fall' with 'vehicle damage' being the second highest.

Commenting on the research, Jonathan Isaby, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Of course, some of the payments made by councils will be entirely justified, as the most serious accidents can change lives, but in many cases, local authorities and their staff will be failing to live up to the standards required of them by law or paying out on frivolous claims too easily."

Lib Dem Councillor Andy Kelly said: "Rochdale Council must work harder to reduce it's compensation bill. The amount we pay out in compensation is way ahead of the national average.

"It's no coincidence that that the condition of roads and pavements in Rochdale is appalling. The Council needs to do a root and branch review of every road in the Borough.

"It's not rocket science to spend money on our broken roads and pavements now to avoid paying out compensation.

"With the current adverse weather, the problem is only going to get worse - we need to act now. Fix our broken roads and pavements and fight vigorously any compensation claims."

David Wilcock, Rochdale Borough Council’s head of legal and governance reform, said: “Compensation is paid only when it has been proved the council is legally liable.

"Residents should be assured that we always try to keep this to a minimum and according to the data published by the Taxpayers’ Alliance, Rochdale Borough Council paid out less than most other Greater Manchester councils who responded to the request for information.”