MORE than £1 million of taxpayers' money in Worcester may have to be refunded to GP surgeries under a controversial business rates wrangle - and £13 million across Worcestershire.

Worcester City Council has now revealed how it could be forced to repay £1.3 million handed over by purpose-built doctors' surgeries after the result of a national legal battle.

As your Worcester News revealed in August, three GP surgeries in Sheffield launched a legal fight to recoup cash they believed was wrongly paid due to flawed assessments on what the business rates bills should be.

Earlier this year an upper tribunal decided that purpose-built surgeries have no realistic alternative commercial use and should therefore pay much less tax - around 30 per cent of the old bills.

Any refunds could also be backdated as far back as 2005, with money due to be handed back to NHS England and reinvested in front line health care.

The city council has published a new report revealing how it will cost the authority an estimated £1.3 million in repayments and then £140,00 a year on an ongoing basis.

As we revealed last month, it will cost Malvern around £3 million in repayments and £400,000 a year, while in Wychavon a £3.5 million lump sum will be repaid and £600,000 would then be 'lost' to the council on an ongoing basis.

It has also emerged that the overall bill to Worcestershire's councils now stands at £13 million in repayments, and £2.3 million a year after that in reduced business rates.

The authorities have all written to central Government asking for the situation to be reviewed before anything is returned.

The city council's report says "further information has been requested" from ministers and it is waiting on a response back.

The situation was debated during a meeting of the council's performance, management and budget scrutiny committee.

Councillor Richard Boorn said: "When the business rates surplus we had was starting to be used as an income source I suggested it was like buying a lottery ticket, because it's just not a sustainable way to manage the finances - it's too risky,"

Mark Baldwin, financial services manager, told him the council's ongoing Medium Term Financial Plan blueprint faces being re-written in light of the situation.

The business rates pool, which involves councils across the county, could also be disbanded.