THE legal battle over the fees paid by Pembrokeshire County Council to four local care homes has cost council taxpayers more than a quarter of a million pounds, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The figures, obtained by the Western Telegraph last week (March 9, 2011), show that the case which ended after a High Court judicial review, has cost £278,000.

This figure includes legal costs, a back payment of £69,506 ordered by the court, plus an interim payment of £24,784 made during the case, according to the paper.

The judicial review in December 2010 followed fears that four Pembrokeshire care homes could be forced to close – they said the weekly fees paid by the council were too low.

However after the review the council was ordered to increase its payments to care homes and a weekly fee of £448 per resident, per week was set for 2010 to 2011.