Hundreds receive injury payouts from Bucks Council costing over £200k

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Injury claims have cost Buckinghamshire Council over £200,000 since 2020, new figures have revealed.

The unitary authority paid out for 431 of the 5,207 claims for accidents it received in total during this period.

Compensation payments in the 2024 calendar year amounted to £18,034.68, while in 2023 they totalled £117,626.41.

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The other three years saw similar compensation totals, with £22,670.96 in 2022, £32,003.83 in 2021 and £14,827.93 in 2020.

Bucks CouncilBucks Council
Bucks Council

The council said it logged injury claims according to where incidents take place, such as on roads, paths, verges or premises.

It said it was unable to provide a breakdown of the incidents, which are subcategorised by result including injury, property damage or both.

The council said: “For example, an injury claim on the carriageway may be linked to a pedestrian crossing the road, a cyclist, a motorist, an individual on a mobility scooter or people riding a horse.”

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The data on the volume and costs of injury claims at the council was obtained by Accident Claims Advice under freedom of information laws.

Its legal experts asked the authority to specify whether claims were for ‘potholes, sinkholes, public highway accidents caused by defects, leisure centres, park and library accidents or pavement accidents’.

Susan Morgan, the Liberal Democrat opposition leader at council, noted the council claims were higher in number in 2023.

But she added: “It’s evident that of those claims there was either a claim that had a high value payout, or the payouts were considerably higher than in previous years. I would like to understand why this is and what happened.”

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Commenting on the figures, the politician told the Local Democracy Reporting Service members that taxpayers may not understand what their cash was being used for.

She said: “Having sat through budget scrutiny recently, and although I am continuing to try and uncover what a lot of the ‘efficiency savings’ mean, there are some concerning investments being made, and savings spanning into millions of pounds.

“For me, the lack of transparency, coupled with the lack of democracy by the Conservative led authority makes it very difficult for a member of the public to understand where their money is being spent.”

The council has been approached for comment.

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