To consider the price changes for 2017.

RECOMMENDED to Council

1.      That the prices for the fees and charges for 2017, as set out in Appendix A to the report, be approved.

2.      That the new fees and charges to be introduced for 2017, as set out in Appendix B to the report, be approved.

3.      That the fees and charges for Social Care, Health and Housing (including HRA) be considered by the Executive on 7 February 2017 and Council on 23 February 2017.

4.      To note that whilst some statutory charges have been left at the 2016 rate currently, these will be amended to the new charges once the Council has been advised of the rates applicable to 2017.

5.      That the progress of the fees and charges cyclical review process, as set out in Appendix C to the report, be noted.

6.      That the fees and charges that deliver the most income for the highest volume usage, as set out in Appendix D to the report, be noted.

7.      That the comments from the Overview and Scrutiny Committees, as set out in Appendix F to the report, be noted.

The Executive considered a report from the Executive Member for Corporate Resources that:

·         set out the proposed fees and charges for 2017;

·         identified the new fees and charges to be introduced for 2017; and

·         identified those charges where proposed increases were significantly different from the 1% advisory increase, as per the 2017/18 Budget Strategy.

In response to questions, the Executive Member for Corporate Resources confirmed that the proposal to move to pre-payment arrangements based on a debit/credit card service via the website would be implemented during the next financial year. 

RECOMMENDED to Council

1.      that the prices for the fees and charges for 2017, as set out in Appendix A to the report, be approved;

2.      that the new fees and charges to be introduced for 2017, as set out in Appendix B to the report, be approved;

3.      that the fees and charges for Social Care, Health and Housing (including HRA) be considered by the Executive on 7 February 2017 and Council on 23 February 2017;

4.      to note that whilst some statutory charges had been left at the 2016 rate currently, these would be amended to the new charges once the Council had been advised of the rates applicable to 2017;

5.      that the progress of the fees and charges cyclical review process, as set out in Appendix C to the report, be noted;

6.      that the fees and charges that deliver the most income for the highest volume usage, as set out in Appendix D to the report, be noted; and

7.      that the comments from the Overview and Scrutiny Committees, as set out in Appendix F to the report, be noted.

To consider and provide comment to the Executive on the proposed revised prices of Fees and Charges for 2017 and in particular those charges where increases are significantly different from the 1% advisory increase.

The Head of Finance introduced a report that detailed the proposed charges for Fees and Charges for the Directorate in 2017, that recommended an increase of 1%.  A benchmarking exercise had been undertaken to compare costs with other Councils and to ensure costs were on a par.

In light of the report a Member requested further details regarding the charge to Kingsland.  A written response would be provided by the Head of Finance to the Committee.

Following a debate regarding fees charged for the Music Service, the Head of Finance advised the charges related to the regional hub work were subsidised as they are part funded by the Arts Council Grant.

RECOMMENDED

Noted the report.

To receive the directorate's relevant fees and charges information, noting the Executive proposals and influencing where appropriate changes to fees and charges prior to Council.

The Head of Financial Performance and Support delivered a report detailing proposed changes to Fees and Charges for 2017, the income generated each year, outlining the rationale behind the advisory 1% increase and highlighting those charges which had a significantly differing revision to that of 1%. Members were informed that the Council could only charge according to costs incurred and were not permitted to generate a profit, with any increase over and above the advisory 1% being ratified by full Council. Those charges which reflected a zero increase were confirmed as being cost reflective and at the maximum level of charge.

·           In light of the report Members requested that material costs over and above officer time be taken into consideration and it was confirmed that this would be reflected during the next cyclical review.

·           Members agreed that benchmarking against neighbouring Authorities would be useful, in particular in relation to taxi license charges and requested that additional detail was provided in future reports, suggesting that the method of calculating fees and charges be revisited.

·           A query arose in relation to a variance in leisure centre charges to which it was agreed that Members would receive a written response.

·           Members queried the rationale behind the inclusion of figures which did not relate to fees and charges but were income related and it was confirmed that the system of identifying costs for each service would be improved in future, with a post recruited to in order to focus on the process.

·           Members received confirmation that due to the outsourcing of the legal department, forecast savings were in the region of £200k.

·           Outsourced services such as pest control often remained static due to the length of contract agreed with the service provider.

RECOMMENDED:-

1.     That the Committee agree the new charges in relation to the Sunday service provided by the Registrars office.

2.     To explore the viability of taxi licensing fees reflecting those of neighbouring authorities.

3.     That future reports reflect improved data around cost association in relation to fees and charges.

4.     That the Executive consider the Fees and Charges prices for 2017 and recommend that the areas highlighted by the Committee be a focus for future reports.

To receive the directorate's relevant fees and charges information, noting the Executive proposals and influencing where appropriate changes to fees and charges prior to Council.

The Head of Financial Performance and Support delivered a report detailing proposed changes to Fees and Charges for 2017, outlining the rationale behind the advisory 1% increase and highlighting those charges which had a significantly differing revision to that of 1%. Members were informed that the Council could only charge according to costs incurred and were not permitted to generate a profit, with any increase over and above the advisory 1% being ratified by full Council

·           In light of the report Members queried individual elements of the charges and were keen to understand the cost modelling exercise undertaken in order to ascertain how a final figure for each charge was calculated.

·           Members agreed that benchmarking against neighbouring Authorities would be useful, in particular in relation to taxi license charges and requested that additional detail was provided in future reports, suggesting that the method of calculating fees and charges be revisited in future.

·           Several queries arose in relation to leisure centre and mobile food charges to which it was agreed Members would receive a written response.

·           The Head of Community Safety highlighted elements within the report which detailed income figures rather than fees and charges, to which Members queried the relevance and agreed was confusing.

RECOMMENDED:-

1.     That the Executive consider the Fees and Charges prices for 2017 and recommend to Council.

2.     That the methodology in calculating Fees and Charges be revisited as Members were unsatisfied with the level of detail presented.

3.     That details not relating to Fees and Charges be omitted from future reports.