Council pays for mistakes (From Swindon Advertiser)

Council pays for mistakes

11:04am Monday 10th July 2006 in News By Vicki Foster

TAXPAYERS handed over more than £41,000 in compensation for council mistakes last year.

The figure comes from the annual report by the Local Government Ombudsman, which says complaints about Swindon Council rose by more than a third last year.

Ombudsman Jerry White said he received 68 complaints against Swindon in the year ending in March, with the greatest increase in highways and housing issues.

The majority of the compensation, £35,000, was to do with an unapproved builder's yard and the nuisance suffered by four neighbours.

"The council delayed in taking effective action to prevent the unlawful use of the yard between 1992 and 2000, by which time the builder's business had been established for over 10 years, and was therefore found to be exempt from planning enforcement action," Mr White said.

"The council paid the four complainants a total of £700 for their time and trouble in complaining and I recommended it to carry out before-and-after valuations of the complainants' homes in order to compensate them for any drop in value as a result of the nuisance.

"I am pleased to say that your council quickly arranged for independent valuations to be carried out and made payments totaling £35,000 to the four complainants."

The ombudsman received six housing benefit complaints, mainly to do with delays and errors in dealing with claims and appeals, which cost it £1,425 in compensation for hardship and stress and time and trouble in complaining.

Another £300 was paid out for problems with council tax benefit.

Mr White congratulated the council on its work to improve benefits claims but urged it to continue.

"Complaints about benefits claims are more of an issue partly because claimants are particularly vulnerable to hardship and possible eviction from their homes where there are delays and errors in awarding benefit," Mr White said. He said he had warned the council about the problem last year.

The council paid a total of £3,325 in compensation for three housing errors, including one where the tenant was threatened with eviction after her tenancy was incorrectly recorded as insecure.

"The complainant suffered distress when repossession was threatened and may have lost the opportunity of a mutual exchange as a result," Mr White said.

He said the council had a "very good" record of responding to complaints.

He congratulated it on admitting when it was wrong and making compensation.

"I am pleased that the council continues to feel able to admit fault and do what it can to put matters right," Mr Wright said.

Labour opposition group leader Coun Kevin Small questioned the compensation awarded to the builder's yard neighbours.

He said he would take that up with the council and ombudsman.