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MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
RECORD OF DECISION OF CABINET
Decision Made: 20 December 2023
Fees and Charges 2024-25
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Issue for Decision
The report set out the proposed fees and charges for 2024/25 for all services and summarised the overall changes. Fees and charges are reviewed annually, and this forms part of the budget setting process. Changes to fees and charges will come into effect on 1 April 2024 unless otherwise stated in the report.
The report forms part of the process of agreeing a budget for 2024/25 and setting next year’s Council Tax. Following consideration by Cabinet at its meeting on 20 September 2023 of the draft Medium Term Finance Strategy for 2024/25 – 2028/29 the savings budget proposals for services were agreed.
The draft MTFS described how, in bridging the budget gap, the Council would need to balance the requirement to make savings and generate increased income of 5%.
This 5% increase could be delivered by price increase and or volume increases. This needs to be considered in respect of any potential changes being approved by Cabinet.
The report also included an update on the Budget Survey. Public consultation on the budget has been carried out. Details are set out in Appendices F and G to the report. Cabinet reviewed the findings and assessed whether the budget proposals being presented later this year are consistent with public expectations and aspirations.
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Decision Made
That:
1.
The contents of
the report be noted; 2.
The Fees and
Charges Policy as detailed in Appendix B to the report be noted; and 3. The Fees and Charges as detailed in Appendices A and D and updated Appendices C and E to the report be approved. |
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Reasons for Decision
Medium Term Financial Strategy
The MTFS and relevant savings proposals for 2024/25 were presented to Cabinet 20 September 2023. Across the council, these savings and fees and charges increases of 5% overall would cover the budget gap. The 5% increase can be delivered by increases to fees and charges or by increased volumes. Any reduction to savings or F&Cs would require further savings options to be considered.
This assumes that Council Tax
is increased up to the referendum threshold and there are no significant
changes to funding when government announce the funding settlement. If there
are variations to our assumptions in the MTFS we will need to review the
position again. The council is able to recover the costs of providing certain services through making a charge to service users. For some services, this is a requirement and charges are set out in statute, and in other areas the council has discretion to determine whether charging is appropriate, and the level at which charges are set.
In recent years, the use of charging has become an
increasingly important feature of the council’s medium term financial
strategy, as pressures on the revenue budget limit the extent to which
subsidisation of discretionary services is feasible. Recovering the costs of
these services from users where possible helps to ensure sustainability of
the council’s offer to residents and businesses, beyond the statutory
minimum. A charging policy (attached at
Appendix B to the report for reference) is in place for charges which are set
at the council’s discretion and this seeks to ensure that: ·
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. ·
Budget managers are equipped with guidance on the factors which
should be considered when reviewing charges. ·
Charges are fair, transparent and understandable, and a
consistent and sensible approach is taken to setting the criteria for
applying concessions or discounted charges. ·
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. 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 the report for information.
Managers are asked to consider the following factors when
reviewing fees and charges:
Discretionary Charges for 2024-25 It is important that charges are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they remain appropriate and keep pace with the costs associated with service delivery as they increase over time.
Charges for services have been reviewed by budget managers in line with the policy, as part of the development of the MTFS for 2024/25 onwards. The detailed results of the review carried out this year are set out in Appendix A and C to E to the report. The approval by Cabinet is sought to the amended fees and charges for 2024/25 as set out in the appendices.
Tables below summarise the 2023/24 outturn and 2024/25
estimate for income from the fees and charges. 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. The Council’s policy on charging states that Cabinet will
consider the overall impact of all fees and charges on the council’s residents
and businesses. A summary of these changes is provided below, with the detail
set out within Appendices A and C-E to the report. Overall, the anticipated
impact of all the proposals represents an increase 4.0% on existing gross
income budgets. This is in line with the expected level of increase to
ensure we deliver a balanced budget.
CS – Fees and Charges
Table 1: Discretionary Fees & Charges Summary Detailed proposals are set out within Appendix A to the
report, and considerations relating to these proposals have been summarised
below. Legal Services – The fees and charges for legal
services are based on recovering the cost of the service. Consideration is
also given to the maximum recoverable costs per hour for court work in this
area, which are set by the Ministry of Justice. The hourly chargeable rate
is the same across all three authorities in the partnership. The increase is
mainly driven by volumes increase of £50,000. Street Naming and Numbering – No changes are
proposed to these charges at this stage. Town Hall – No changes are proposed to these charges at this stage.
CS Statutory Fees & Charges Table 2 below summarises the income due from fees which are set by the government. No changes are anticipated to these charges which are set centrally by government departments.
Table 2: Statutory Fees & Charges Summary (CS PAC)
HHE F&Cs
Table 3: Discretionary Fees
& Charges Summary (HHE) CLA F&Cs
Table 4: Discretionary Fees
& Charges Summary (CLA) PIED F&Cs
Table 5: Discretionary Fees & Charges Summary (PIED)
Public consultation on the budget has been carried out. Details are set out in Appendices F and G to the report. Members are encouraged to review the findings and assess whether the budget proposals they have reviewed are consistent with public expectations and aspirations.
Services Spending Approaches Respondents were provided with the list of mandatory
services detailing the current spend for each per council tax band D
household. They were asked to indicate what approach they felt the Council
should take in delivering the mandatory services. Three options were provided
for respondents to select from: • Reduce the service provided • Maintain the current service • Don’t know. The key points from the responses are (Appendix F to the
report): ·
The top three mandatory services that respondents said should
be maintained were Environmental Services (96.7%), Environmental Health
(84.1%) and Community Safety (82.0%). ·
The top three mandatory services which respondents said should
be reduced were Democratic & Electoral services (47.0%), Licensing
(38.5%) and Council Tax & Benefits (34.8%). ·
The top three discretionary services which respondents said
should be maintained were Parks & Open Spaces (96.4%), Leisure centre
(79.7%) and Car Parks (74.3%). ·
The top three discretionary service which respondents said
should be reduced were Civic Events (50.8%), Markets (43.3%) and Tourism
(34.6%). · Investment priorities – infrastructure including flood prevention and street scene remain the highest priority.
We have also compared the changes between the 2022 and 2023 surveys (Appendix G to the report). There are small swings in the figures on reducing services. Those with a decrease in the percentage for ‘reducing the service provided’ are Environmental Services and Planning.
Those with a larger increase in the percentage for
‘reducing the service provided’ are Democratic and Electoral Services,
Bereavement Services, Environmental Enforcement and Licensing. The most important services were also compared across the
2 surveys. There were no changes in the priority order. Investment Programme Survey respondents were asked to place a list of investment programme priorities into their preferred order of importance. The result is consistent with the 2022 survey with Infrastructure (including flood presentation and street scene) the highest preference and housing the lowest.
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Alternatives considered and why rejected
Option 2: We could agree alternative charges to those set out within Appendices A and C to E to the report. This was not chosen as any alternative increases 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 2024-25. The impact on demand for a service was also taken into account when considering increases to charges beyond the proposed level.
Option 3: We could agree to do nothing and retain charges at their current levels. This was not chosen as this might limit the Council’s ability to recover the cost of delivering discretionary services and could result in being unable to set a balanced budget for 2024-25.
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Background Papers
None
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I have read and approved the above decision for the
reasons (including possible alternative options rejected) as set out above. Signed:__ Councillor Paul Cooper, Deputy Leader of the Council
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Full details of both the report for the decision taken above and any consideration by the relevant Policy Advisory Committee can be found at the following area of the website
Call-In: Should you be concerned about this decision and wish to call it in, please submit a call-in form signed by any three Members to the Proper Officer by: 5pm on 8 January 2024 |