Agenda item

Fees & Charges Review

Decision:

(a)  That the proposed fees and charges for council services (Appendix 1) be agreed, except those marked ‘for noting only – non-Cabinet approval’, for implementation from 1 April 2023.

 

(b)  That delegated authority be given to the Executive Director of Finance and Commercial, following consultation with the relevant Executive Director and relevant Cabinet member, to implement any increases prior to 1 April 2023 on an exception basis.

 

(c)  That delegated authority be given to the relevant Executive Director(s) to amend the fees and charges if any appropriate corrections were needed, following consultation with the relevant Executive Director(s) and relevant Cabinet member.

Minutes:

The Lead Member for Financial Oversight & Council Assets introduced a report on the annual review of fees and charges.  It was noted that the main focus of the approach was to ensure full cost recovery and ensuring charges remained in line with the cost of delivering services.  A full list of fees and charges and proposed changes was set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

 

The review proposed a starting principle that all charges adopted an inflationary increase where appropriate.  The September 2022 Consumer Price Index annual increase was 10.1%, and this had been rounded to 10% as the proposed increase in most fees and charges.  There were exceptions for which a lower or higher rate applied, for example, where a directorate had reviewed a charge and recommended an above inflation increase if this was required to fully recover the costs of delivering the service.  The overall income expected if the recommendations were adopted was approximately £1m.  The Lead Member also highlighted that fees and charges should be kept under continuous review so that the charging regime remained reasonable and up to date.

 

The Cabinet agreed that the key principle was ensuring cost recovery and welcomed the thorough review that had taken place.  It was recognised that the increases reflected the fact the authority was operating in a high inflationary environment and that the Council could not absorb the cost pressures of delivery services.

 

After due consideration, the recommendations were agreed.

 

Resolved –

 

(a)  That the proposed fees and charges for council services (Appendix 1 to the report) be agreed, except those marked ‘for noting only – non-Cabinet approval’, for implementation from 1 April 2023.

 

(b)  That delegated authority be given to the Executive Director of Finance and Commercial, following consultation with the relevant Executive Director and relevant Cabinet member, to implement any increases prior to 1 April 2023 on an exception basis.

 

(c)  That delegated authority be given to the relevant Executive Director(s) to amend the fees and charges if any appropriate corrections were needed, following consultation with the relevant Executive Director(s) and relevant Cabinet member.

Supporting documents: