Communities, Housing & Environment Committee				15 January 2019
Fees & Charges 2019/20
Final Decision-Maker		Communities, Housing & Environment Committee
Lead Head of Service/Lead Director		Mark Green, Director of Finance & Business Improvement
Lead Officer and Report Author		Ellie Dunnet, Head of Finance
Classification		Public
Wards affected		All
Executive Summary
This report sets out the proposed fees and charges for 2019/20 for the services within the remit of this committee.  Fees and charges determined by the council are reviewed annually, and this forms part of the budget setting process.   The committee is invited to consider the appropriateness of the proposals for charges which are set at the council’s discretion.   Charges which are determined centrally have been included in Appendix 1 for information.
This report makes the following recommendations to Communities, Housing & Environment Committee
1.   That the proposed discretionary fees and charges set out in Appendix 1 to this report are agreed.
Timetable
Meeting			Date
Communities, Housing & Environment Committee			15 January 2019
Policy & Resources Committee			23 January 2019

Fees & Charges 2019/20

 

1.      INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

1.1     The council is able to recover the costs of providing discretionary services through making a charge to service users.  A charging policy is in place for charges which are set at the council’s discretion and this seeks to ensure that:

 

a)   Fees and charges are reviewed regularly, and that this review covers existing charges as well services for which there is potential to charge in the future.

 

b)   Budget managers are equipped with guidance on the factors which should be considered when reviewing charges.

 

c)   Charges are fair, transparent and understandable, and a consistent and sensible approach is taken to setting the criteria for applying concessions or discounted charges.

 

d)   Decisions regarding fees and charges are based on relevant and accurate information regarding the service and the impact of any proposed changes to the charge is fully understood.

 

1.2     The policy covers fees and charges that are set at the discretion of the council and does not apply to services where the council is prohibited from charging, e.g. the collection of household waste.  Charges currently determined by central government, e.g. planning application fees, are also outside the scope of the policy.  However, consideration of any known changes to such fees and charges and any consequence to the medium term financial strategy are included in this report for information.

 

1.3     Managers are asked to consider the following factors when reviewing fees and charges:

 

a)   The council’s strategic plan and values, and how charge supports these;

 

b)   The use of subsidies and concessions targeted at certain user groups or to facilitate access to a service;

 

c)   The actual or potential impact of competition in terms of price or quality;

 

d)   Trends in user demand including an estimate of the effect of price changes on customers;

 

e)   Customer survey results;

 

f)    Impact on users, both directly and on delivering the council’s objectives;

 

g)   Financial constraints including inflationary pressure and service budgets;

 

h)   The implications of developments such as investment made in a service;

 

i)     The corporate impact on other service areas of council wide pressures to increase fees and charges; 

 

j)    Alternative charging structures that could be more effective;

 

k)   Proposals for targeting promotions during the year and the evaluation

of any that took place in previous periods.

 

Discretionary Charges for 2019/20

1.4     Charges for services which fall within the remit of this committee have been reviewed by budget managers in line with the policy, as part of the development of the medium term financial strategy for 2019/20 onwards.  The detailed results of the review carried out this year are set out in

Appendix 1 and the approval of the committee is sought to the amended

fees and charges for 2019/20 as set out in that appendix.

 

1.5     Table 1 below summarises the 2017/18 outturn and 2018/19 estimate for income from the discretionary fees and charges which fall within the remit of this committee.  Please note that the table only reflects changes relating to fees and charges and does not include other budget proposals which may impact these service areas.

 

1.6     The overall increase in income if these changes are agreed and implemented as planned is expected to be £101,694 which amounts to a 7.99% increase in the overall budgeted income figure for this committee for the current financial year.  This information excludes fees for licensing, which will be reported to the Licensing Committee for approval.

 

Service Area	2017-18 Actual £	2018-19 Estimate £	Proposed increase in income £	2019-20 Estimate £
Environmental Enforcement & Community Protection	7,510	3,900	0	3,900
Environmental Health	400	2,910	715	3,625
Recycling & Refuse Collection	1,123,278	1,136,380	66,000	1,202,380
HMO Licensing	10,604	14,380	0	14,380
Gypsy & Traveller Sites	68,463	68,200	2,179	70,379
Total income from fees set by the Council	1,210,255	1,225,770	68,894	1,294,664

Table 1: Discretionary Fees & Charges Summary (CHE)

 

1.7     A number of proposed changes to these fees are detailed within Appendix 1 and summarised below:

 

Food Hygiene Courses – a reduction in the income budget is proposed due to low take up of this service.

Voluntary surrender of unsound food – fees have been increased to enable full recovery of officer time.  However, the income budget for this area will not be increased accordingly as this service is not widely used.

 

Food export certificate – fees have been increased in this area in order to enable full cost recovery, and the income budget has been increased accordingly.  This is considered to be an area of potential growth.

 

Bulky collection – increases have been applied to the charges in this area in order to cover the additional contract costs which have arisen from indexation.

 

Garden waste service – the annual charge for a large bin will increase to £40 per year, as detailed in previous budget proposals.  This is expected to generate additional income of £66,000 per year.

 

Gypsy and traveller site plot fees – an inflationary increase has been applied to the weekly charge, and the income budget will be increased accordingly. 

 

1.8     Table 2 below summarises the income due from fees which are set by the government.  Some minor changes have been made to the income budgets for environmental health charges relating to tattooing, electrolysis, acupuncture and ear-piercing.  This is based on the forecast level of demand for these services over the forthcoming year, details are provided within Appendix 1.

 

Service Area	2017-18 Actual £	2018-19 Estimate £	Proposed increase in income £	2019-20 Estimate £
Environmental Enforcement & Community Protection	47,441	64,380	0	64,380
Environmental Health	14,543	10,140	7,626	17,766
Statutory fees & charges (included for information)	61,984	74,520	7,626	82,146

Table 2: Statutory Fees & Charges Summary (CHE)

 

2.        AVAILABLE OPTIONS

 

Option 1

2.1     The committee could approve the recommendations as set out in the report, adopting the fees and charges as proposed in Appendix 1.  As these proposals have been developed in line with the council’s policy on fees and charges they will create a manageable impact on service delivery whilst maximising income levels.  

 

Option 2

2.2     The committee could increase the charges proposed within Appendix 1. Any alternative increase may not be fully compliant with the policy, would require further consideration before implementation and may not deliver the necessary levels of income to ensure a balanced budget for 2019/20.  The impact on demand for a service should also be taken into account when considering increases to charges beyond the proposed level.

 

Option 3

2.3     The committee could propose to decrease the charges proposed within Appendix 1.  However, this would limit the Council’s ability to recover the cost of delivering discretionary services, and could result in the Council being unable to set a balanced budget for 2019/20.

 

3.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

3.1     Option 1 as set out above is recommended as the proposed fees and charges shown within Appendix 1 have been developed by budget managers in line with the Council’s Charging Policy.  The proposed charges are considered appropriate and are expected to create a manageable impact on service delivery whilst maximising cost recovery.

 

4.       RISK

4.1     The risks associated with this proposal, including the risks if the Council does not act as recommended, have been considered in line with the Council’s Risk Management Framework.  We are satisfied that the risks associated are within the Council’s risk appetite and will be managed as per the Policy.

 

5.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

 

5.1     As part of this year’s budget survey, residents were asked to rank the

approaches to balancing the budget in order of preference. The results of

the survey indicated that providing fewer discretionary services was the

most preferred option, with a score of 2.25 out of 3. Increasing fees and

charges scored the second highest, with 2.11 out of 3.

 

6.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

 

6.1     Fees and charges are being considered by service Committees throughout January, with an overarching report to Policy & Resources Committee on 23 January 2019.

 

7.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

 

Issue	Implications	Sign-off
Impact on Corporate Priorities	·         The Council’s policy on charging has been developed to support corporate priorities as set out in the strategic plan.	Head of Finance
Risk Management	·         Risk implications have been set out in section 4 of the report.	Head of Finance
Financial	·         Financial implications are set out in the body of the report.  If agreed, this income will be incorporated into the Council’s medium term financial strategy for 2019/20 onwards.	Head of Finance
Staffing	·         We will deliver the recommendations with our current staffing.	Head of Finance
Legal	·         A number of the fees and charges made for services by the Council are set so as to provide the service at cost. These services are set up as trading accounts to ensure that the cost of service is clearly related to the charge made. In other cases the fee is set by statute and the Council must charge the set fee. In both cases the proposals in this report meet the Council’s obligations.   ·         Where a customer defaults the fee or charge for a service must be defendable, in order to recover it through legal action. Adherence to the policy on setting fees and charges provides some assurance that appropriate factors have been considered in setting these charges.	Legal Team
Privacy and Data Protection	·         No specific impact identified.	Legal Team
Equalities	The recommendations do not propose a change in service therefore will not require an equalities impact assessment	Equalities and Corporate Policy Officer
Public Health	·         No specific impact identified.	Head of Finance
Crime and Disorder	·         No specific impact identified.	Head of Finance
Procurement	·         No specific impact identified.	Head of Finance

 

8.        REPORT APPENDICES

 

The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:

·         Appendix 1: Proposed fees & charges 2019/20 (Communities, Housing and Environment Committee)

 

9.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

Charging Policy: http://aluminum:9080/documents/s58019/Appendix%201%20-%20Charging%20Policy%20November%202017.pdf