Bin lorry crash civil case has six-day hearing date set

ASIX-DAY hearing has been set for a civil case in relation to the Glasgow bin lorry crash. Glasgow City Council is suing First Bus, the former employers of the bin lorry driver Harry Clarke, over the job reference the firm provided.

Mr Clarke collapsed while at the wheel of a bin lorry in the city centre in December 2014. The vehicle crashed into pedestrians and killed six people.

During an initial hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh yesterday, Roddy Dunlop QC, representing First Bus, told the court he would not focus heavily on the issue of automatism.

He added: “My point is a simpler one and it’s this – the pursuers must prove the reasonableness of the settlement and the defenders are entitled to test the evidence in that regard.

“So that is the sum and substance of the line and it will not be advanced further.”

Andrew Smith QC, representing the local authority, agreed with Mr Dunlop that no meeting of the two parties should take place before the full hearing as they had “polarised positions” on the issue.

Judge Lord Ericht set the six-day hearing for September 28.

Erin McQuade, 18, and her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and Lorraine Sweeney, 69, from Dumbarton; Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow; and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, died in the crash.

A further 15 people were injured when the Glasgow City Council truck veered out of control. It travelled along the pavement in Queen Street before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel in George Square.

An inquiry into the incident held in 2015 heard the tragedy took just 19 seconds to unfold.

During the course of the incident, numerous members of the public saw Mr Clarke unconscious and slumped forward in the driver’s seat.

The inquiry also heard he had a history of health issues dating back to the 1970s.

AMOTHER who was struggling to pay rent is among many who have been helped by housing bosses to claim benefits to which they were entitled.

Amanda Hay, a mother-of-five, from Nitshill, was behind on rent after her housing benefit stopped.

A GHA tenant, she contacted her housing officer who sorted out her benefits and kept her afloat during the ordeal.

The 30-year-old said: “He put me in touch with a GHA welfare benefits advisor and they dealt with the DWP for me. I got a backdated payment which helped me pay off my rent arrears. I’m much happier now.

“My housing officer also arranged emergency food parcels for me and the kids. That was a definite lifeline.” The Wheatley Group-owned social landlord has helped put an extra £9.4m in unclaimed benefits into the pockets of its tenants in the last year. Alison Bain, of Royston, said she “didn’t know where to start” with the benefits process before getting a housing officers’ help.

“My welfare benefits advisor got in touch, looked at my circumstances and helped me fill in the forms. It was a great relief. I’d say to any tenant to use the service and find out what you are entitled to,” she added.

The benefits system can be complex and daunting for people to access and it is estimated around £16bn went unclaimed by poorer households in 2020.

Olga Clayton, Wheatley Group director of housing and care, said: “Welfare benefits are a vital safety net for many people on low-incomes. We are here to help tenants claim all of the benefits they are entitled to.

“The support and advice we can offer is life-changing.”