Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

REVEALED: North councils pay out £1.5million in compensation in past six years

Former north-east MSP Lewis Macdonald is saddened by the decline of dental services.
Former north-east MSP Lewis Macdonald is saddened by the decline of dental services.

North councils have splashed out more than £1.5million in compensation payouts in the past six years – including for injuries at schools, flooding, pothole incidents and stress.

The figures obtained by the Press and Journal sparked anger among politicians over what they claim is council “mismanagement” and a “failure to invest” in infrastructure.

Highland Council paid out £721,441, while Aberdeenshire spent £519,117 – including £123,000 on claims involving potholes.

Moray Council totalled £102,548, including £15,548 on pothole claims, and Aberdeen City Council £200,000 on “employer liability claims”, with £11,000 on pothole damages.

Shetland Islands Council paid out £20,000. Orkney made no settlements and Western Isles Council said they “do not hold this information” as all claims were handled by their insurers.

North east Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald said: “These figures show the price local people pay for under-funding of our local councils by the Scottish Government, since every compensation claim reflects real harm suffered by local residents.

“It is time local councils received their fair share of support from Holyrood.”

Highland SNP councillor Ron MacWilliam claimed: “These figures are high and I suspect are becoming an exponentially increasing budget pressure.

“Highland Council is wasting a fortune due to mismanagement of budgets and their own failure to invest.

“The condition of many roads and pavements is deplorable and is the result of many years of low funding prioritisation by Highland Council.

“Claims against the council will result where accidents or damage occurs due to failure to maintain statutory standards and ultimately the council tax payer pays up more than once because the council has mismanaged its own income.

He added: “We have in recent years seen the most rapid road condition decline of any council. Highland Council hoped that people wouldn’t notice scrimping on maintenance for years but people are noticing now.”

Alexander Burnett, Scottish Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West, said:  “Given the scale of SNP cuts to council budgets in recent years, these compensation claim figures are not surprising.

“Local authorities are struggling to keep up with basic services like road maintenance and pothole repairs.

“The cuts have been a political choice by the SNP at a time when the block grant from Westminster has increased.

“In areas like Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, councils need a more equal share of funding – they need a fair deal from the SNP.”

A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “The council keeps the level of insurance cover under regular review.

“Realistically for a council this size there will always be a certain level of claim that the Council will meet.

“Whilst any claim is regrettable, a figure of £120,000 per annum is relatively low in comparison to other authorities.”

She added: “The council has made significant savings in external premium through adopting a proactive approach and accepting and managing a greater level of risk itself.

“Costs incurred are well within the policy excess, so have no bearing on the external premium paid to insurers.”

Aberdeenshire Council’s head of roads Philip McKay, said: “Aberdeenshire Council consistently ranks within the top five of all 32 local authorities in the annual road maintenance condition survey.

“However, it is fact that potholes can appear at any time on any standard of road. Potholes do appear between inspections.

“The authority’s independent insurance representatives deal with all pothole related insurance claims and each case is dealt with on an individual basis.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “These compensation payments are entirely the responsibility of local authorities, and we continue to ensure councils receive a fair funding deal, despite further cuts to the Scottish Budget by the UK Government.

“Our total funding to councils this year amounts to £11.2 billion, a real terms increase of £310 million – and councils in the north will receive their fair share of that increase.”

THE FIGURES

Aberdeenshire Council paid £123,587 in compensation in relation to pothole incidents – almost a quarter of all their payouts over the last six year.

In 2017/18 they made payments totalling £50,863. This compares to £8,571 in 2013/14, £32,816 the following year, another £10,471 in 2015/16, £20,864 in 2016/17 and £12,211 in the last financial year.

Overall compensation claims for the region was £519,117 for the past six years.

Other claims related to “trees/branches/roots”, totalling more than £2,500.

Damage to underground cables and services led to payments of more than £23,000, while claims relating to “grass cutting” incidents amounted to more than £10,000.

Highland Council meanwhile paid more than £200,000 in relation to surface defects to carriageways and footways, with the top single pay out being £51,000.

There were three claims in relation to “crossroads collision” totalling £11,583, with one amounting to £9,817.

There were 10 claims made in relation to broken and chipped bones totalling £100,324, many in care and learning services which cover education and social work. The highest payout was £25,490.

“Strains and sprains”, many again in the care and learning bracket, totalled £220,199 in 14 claims, with one payment of £41,101 being made.

There were four payments made in relation to “cuts” totalling £12,893, while there was one for “stress” amounting to £8,895.

Aberdeen City Council states they settled “liability claims” totalling around £210,000, with just over £11,000 going toward damages relating to potholes.

There were 359 claims made regarding potholes in the past five years, but just under 40 were settled.

Moray paid £102,548 in relation to compensation since 2013, with £15,548 for pothole incidents.

Shetland Islands Council made payments of just over £20,000, with the main payments in relation to claims for loose chippings and tar.

Orkney Islands Council said no compensation payments were made, while Western Islands Council stated it was a matter for their insurers.