A golden age of local government
Tim Pope says that the coronavirus crisis has led to a renewed sense of purpose and ingenuity in local government.
Council loses court battle over £1m fatal bin lorry crash damages
11/12/2019 Glasgow City Council has failed in its bid to reclaim the £1m in damages it was forced to pay to the families of those who lost their lives in a bin lorry crash. |
Councils received 700,000 pothole complaints last year
14/08/2019 Local authorities received 700,000 complaints last year about ptoholes and other road defects, new figures have revealed. |
Council pays out over £40,000 for ‘mistakes’ in respite centre closure
14/05/2019 Southampton City Council has paid thousands of pounds in compensation after an Ombudsman ruled that the authority had caused ‘avoidable distress’ when it closed a respite centre. |
Council pays £1.75m in compensation to recycling contractor
08/04/2019 Milton Keynes Council has reached a settlement with the contractor Viridor to cover what the local authority describes as the ‘historic costs’ of contamination in its recycling sacks. |
Lambeth survivors of abuse receive £7.7m compensation
25/03/2019 More than 1,000 applications for compensation have been made during the first year of a council scheme which was set up to compensate victims of abuse. |
Councils paying out £8,800 per cyclist in pothole compensation
04/03/2019 Councils are paying out an average of £8,800 per cyclist in pothole compensation claims, a new investigation has revealed. |
Pothole compensation costs councils nearly £3m a year
13/02/2019 Councils paid £2.8m to drivers for damage caused by potholes in 2017/18, new figures have revealed. |
Capita to pay council more than £4m for poor performance
23/11/2018 Outsourcing company Capita has agreed to pay more than £4m compensation to Barnet Council for its poor performance - but will continue providing services until at least next year. |
Council pays £50,000 to victim of care home grooming gang
10/09/2018 A former children's care home resident has received a £50,000 payout from Birmingham City Council after she claimed it failed to protect her from grooming gangs. |
Councils pay out £2.1m in compensation to injured pedestrians
14/08/2018 Local authorities paid out more than £2m in compensation over the past year to pedestrians who have tripped on poorly maintained pavements. |
Contractor ordered to pay Birmingham £50m in PFI dispute
13/06/2018 Amey Birmingham Highways Ltd has been ordered to pay Birmingham CC £50m in compensation in a long running dispute over a highways PFI, according to reports. |
Land compensation rules ‘barrier’ to development, think tank says
16/04/2018 A change in the UK’s land compensation rules could lead to local authorities having an extra £9.3bn to invest in infrastructure, think tank says. |
Councils spend £43m on pothole claims in five years
26/03/2018 Councils across the UK have paid out at least £43m on compensation claims from potholes over the last five years, according to a cycling charity. |
Council pays £750 in compensation after resident hits head
11/01/2018 A Welsh council has had to pay out hundreds of pounds after a member of the public hit their head on a low sign. |
Calls for independent panel to administer compensation for child abuse
12/12/2017 Compensation for survivors of child abuse in Lambeth should be decided by an independent panel rather than the council, a councillor has warned. |
Councils paid out more than £3m last year due to pothole damage
19/10/2017 Putting all the UK's potholes together would create a 40km hole stretching down to the Earth's mantle, according to research by the comparison website Confused.com. |
Lambeth pays out ‘tens of millions’ in historical abuse compensation
16/12/2016 Lambeth Council has publicly apologised and paid out tens of millions of pounds after a new report revealed the ‘abuse and poor care’ suffered by children in its homes. |
Skyscaper owner to compensate Leeds Council over wind damage costs
02/12/2016 Leeds City Council is to receive £903,000 in compensation for wind danger caused by Yorkshire’s tallest skyscraper, Bridgewater Place. |
Councils received over 30,000 pothole compensation claims in past year
13/10/2016 Motorists made over 30,000 compensation claims to councils last year for damage caused to their vehicles by poor road conditions, new figures have revealed. |
Court determines councils not always liable for accidents on their property
12/10/2016 Local authorities should not automatically be financially liable for accidents that occur on their land, a court has ruled today. |
Breach of duty: they think it’s all over – but is it?
20/09/2016 Peter Wake and Ken Slade explain what councils should consider when faced with personal injury claims. |
Personal injury claim should not affect care assessments warns ombudsman
06/07/2016 Personal injury settlements should not be taking into account by councils when assessing someone’s care contribution, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has warned. |
Councils could face claims over pumped floodwater damage
26/01/2016 Local authorities have been warned to prepare for claims from farmers affected by pumped floodwater after a council in Yorkshire lost a test case. |
Councils paid out £100m in compensation claims over past two years
21/01/2016 Councils paid out more than £100m in compensation claims over the past two years, according to new research from the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA). |
Pothole claims fall – but there’s still one every 18 minutes
30/09/2015 Councils paid out just one in four claims for vehicle damage caused by potholes over the last year, according to latest figures. |
Council to pay compensation over Nazi-looted artwork
14/08/2015 A Scottish council is to pay compensation to a German Jewish woman’s family after it emerged Nazi-looted artwork was in a local museum. |
Feeling the pinch! Council worker hit by loo lid lands £12k payout
20/07/2015 Over £30m has been paid out in compensation to council workers since 2012, including thousands of pounds for a worker ‘hit by a toilet seat’. |
Pothole sensor innovation opens up real-time detection for councils
10/06/2015 An innovative research project could soon see cars sharing real-time data on potholes with other drivers and councils, potentially slashing local authority costs. |
Burglar’s family face £260k bill after trying to sue council for skylight fall
15/04/2015 A burglar has failed in a bid to sue a county council after falling through a school skylight and sustaining life-threatening injuries. |
Councils pay out £3.2m in pothole compensation to drivers
26/01/2015 Councils paid out £3.2m in compensation to motorists for pothole damage caused to vehicles last year, research reveals. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
