Wirral Council paid out more than £42,000 in compensation payments last year, according to the Local Government Ombudsman report for 2009/10

Jul 28 2010 by Matt Hurst, Heswall News

WIRRAL Council paid out more than £42,000 in compensation last year, to settle complaints made to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).

The LGO report published last week, which refers to a period from April 2009 to March 31 2010, gives the authority a fairly clean bill of health.

It notes a “willingness to learn from complaints” and says that the identification of any “procedural shortcomings” was “positively received”.

But it does detail substantial compensation payments, made largely in the area of adult social care.

The report states: “The most serious of these involved the failure over four years to provide proper services for the complainant’s disabled son.

“The council apologised to the complainant and paid £30,000 compensation.”

Three further adult social services cases resulted in cumulative total payouts of £8,479.

Cllr Moira McLaughlin was Cabinet member for adult social services prior to May’s election. She said: “I am unable to comment in detail about this case, however I understand the complaint originated when the person was in receipt of services from the Children and Young Peoples Department and was in transition to Adult Services.”

An additional £4,100 compensation was paid out over a planning matter, accompanied by an apology from “a senior officer”, said the report.

Wirral Council leader Cllr Jeff Green said: “Every penny we pay out in claims means we have less for the services that we provide.

“In most cases, claims are not upheld, either by our insurers or the courts.

“However, sadly, sometimes, the council has made mistakes and is liable.

“In those cases we have a moral and financial obligation to pay out.

“The best way to reduce future claims is by learning from the previous cases.”

In total, the LGO advice team received 70 enquiries about Wirral Council, of which 51 were complaints.

This represents a vast reduction on 2008/09, where 149 complaints were made, largely surrounding the shelved proposals to close libraries and leisure centres.