Pembrokeshire County Council has again refused to release details of how much money it has spent on external consultants over the past five years.

As a result, the Western Telegraph has now written to the Information Commissioner asking for the decision to be overturned and the documents released.

In November, the Western Telegraph submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request for the details of expenditure on consultants since January 2004.

It simply requested a breakdown by year and asked for the name of the consultants used, the amount paid and what the work entailed.

The council admitted that it had spent £1.2million in the last financial year, but would not say who that money was spent with or release figures for the remaining years — claiming it would cost more than £450 to provide the information.

Under the FOI act, if a request costs more than £450 to provide, an authority does not have to release it.

In December, the Western Telegraph appealed to the council’s review panel for the remaining information to be released.

But last week the review panel upheld the original decision, prompting the paper’s appeal to the Information Commissioner’s office.

News Editor Lee Day said: “It is hard to understand how the not insubstantial figure of £1.2m could be calculated for the last financial year, but not the amounts for the other years.

“There is no doubt that this is hugely in the public interest. Council tax payers must be allowed to know what their money was spent on and who it was spent with.

“We look forward to the Information Commissioner’s judgement on this.”