Agenda item

Further to Minute  No. 45 of the meeting of the Deputy Leader and Advisers held on 17^th February 2014, consideration was given to a report, presented by the Business and Commercial Programme Manager, providing an overview of this Council’s approach to the management of Housing Revenue Account-funded footpaths. The report stated that the aim of this approach is to:-

: ensure compliance with revised accounting guidance for infrastructure assets to be adopted in 2015/16, as per Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy guidance;

: mitigate the costs arising from personal injury insurance claims on footpaths (outside curtilage of the property), funded by the Housing Revenue Account, because this issue is highlighted as an area of high risk by the Council’s Insurance Section;  and

: meet the corporate priority for maintenance of the highways infrastructure.

Local authorities are assessing the current value of their highways infrastructure, using the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) 2010 Code of Practice on Transport Infrastructure Assets. The purpose of this Code is to support an asset management plan based approach to the provision of financial information about local authority infrastructure assets.

A summary of claims received as a result of slips, trips and falls on Housing Revenue Account funded footpaths was included in the report. The need to continue to invest in reducing the costs of accidents via improved management systems, work environment and training is recognised and, consequently, the Council will implement a series of actions throughout 2014/15 to mitigate this risk.

The report listed three options being considered to mitigate costs arising from Personal Injury claims on Housing Revenue Account funded footpaths and achieve compliance with the CIPFA guidelines for Infrastructure assets, currently planned to be adopted in the 2015/16 financial year.

Option 1 (the preferred option) – comprehensive review of footpaths funded by the Housing Revenue Account and management system adopted;

Option 2 – pro-active assessment by Housing Champions;

Option 3 – reactive maintenance.

Members of the Improving Places Select Commission discussed the following salient issues:-

: the history of insurance claims, made against the Council, relating to slips, trips and falls and whether there was an identifiable trend of several claims affecting specific footpaths in particular locations;

: the estimated costs of the proposed maintenance inspection regime of footpaths and whether savings could be made;

: the estimated costs of the repair and maintenance of footpaths and whether the suggested budget is sufficient;

: whether, in the longer term, savings will be achieved in the cost of insurance premiums relating to the Housing Revenue Account funded footpaths;

: the process of identification of the footpath assets as being those funded from the Housing Revenue Account;

: the possibility of a similar exercise being undertaken to identify responsibility for the green spaces situated in residential areas.

Resolved:- (1) That the report be received and its contents noted.

(2) That a progress report about the maintenance of Housing Revenue Account funded footpaths, including details of the incidence and cost of insurance claims, be submitted to a meeting of the Improving Places Select Commission in twelve months’ time.