Health board’s £900k legal fees

A TROUBLED health board has been criticised for paying nearly £900,000 to a law firm in connection with eight legal cases.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) has spent £884,000 on Blake Morgan LLP since 2014, according to figures released following a Freedom of Information request.

It was paid by the board to represent them on eight cases where legal proceedings were issued and accounted for two thirds of all spending on law firms during that time.

A BCUHB spokesman said they used the firm for services “including the application of employment law”.

He added: “Blake Morgan are part of the pan-Wales legal and risk services contract and, on occasion, the health board use their services for a range of matters including the application of employment law.”

But critics have raised concerns over the money.

Llyr Gruffydd, North Wales Plaid Cymru AM, said: “It’s concerning to read that nearly £900,000 of health funding has been spent on one law firm at a time when Betsi Cadwaladr is in such deep financial troubles.

“Taxpayers are having to pay a high price for failures of senior management at the health board.”

Geoff Ryall-Harvey, chief officer for the watchdog North Wales Community Health council, said: “It is a disproportionately large amount of money to be spent on one firm for eight cases.

“Also, I would wonder why these were not covered by risk pool arrangements, where every health board pays into a fund and this fund is used for legal actions.”

Betsi Cadwaladr was put into special measures in June 2015.