£10,000 compensation claims at York schools (From York Press)

£10,000 compensation claims at York schools

8:29am Thursday 20th September 2012 in News

COMPENSATION claims involving schools in York have cost the city’s council more than £10,000 in the last three years, writes Mark Stead.

Figures revealed under the Freedom of Information Act showed City of York Council paid out £8,882.01 following 26 public liability claims at the city’s schools between 2009 and 2012, which relate to injuries to people and damage to property and can be made by pupils, members of staff or other members of the public.

During the same period, 11 employer’s liability claims – concerning injuries to members of staff – led to settlements totalling £1,531.

All successful claims have to be due to “an act of negligence or an omission” by the council.

Full details of what the individual claims related to have not been made available for data protection reasons, as the council said it could “lead to the identification of individuals”. It also said the authority’s insurance did not cover the personal possessions of staff, pupils or school visitors unless they were specifically submitted in a claim for compensation.

Of the 37 compensation claims received by the council over the last three financial years, the majority – 21 – came in 2010/11. Last year, 11 claims were lodged, but they do not necessarily relate to an incident which took place in that year. A spokeswoman for the authority said: “All claims made are considered on a strict legal liability basis, and this ensures all claims are dealt with in a fair and consistent manner.

“Claims against schools nationally are on the increase. In York, we have seen a slight increase in the number of claims against schools in recent years, but have not had the volumes seen by other authorities.”