To receive from Members any declarations of interest and of any political whip in relation to any agenda item.

Cllr Bowater declared an interest in the business as a Member of the Audit Committee.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman and any matters of communication.

Cllr McVicar welcomed the co-opted Members of the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee and advised Members of the procedure for the meeting including the manner in which the discussion would be recorded.  Whilst the meeting was a co-convened meeting of four separate Overview and Scrutiny Committees it was noted that any recommendations would be referred to the relevant committee for referral to the Executive.

To receive petitions from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 2 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

None.

To receive any questions, statements or deputations from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 1 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

None.

To review the Council’s proposed Fees and Charges schedule and recommend a preferred approach to the Executive.

Cllr M Jones introduced a report that proposed the revised fees and charges for 2015/16 and identified those charges where increases were significantly different from the 2% advisory increase as per the 2015/16 Budget Strategy.  In addition it was highlighted that charges would take effect either from 01 January 2015 or 01 April 2015.

In addition to discussing the specific fees and charges Members commented that the report did not clearly demonstrate which of these were statutory and where there was flexibility to amend proposals.  It was suggested that future reports identify the level of service use as a means of providing context for these charges, for example in relation to waste collection it was proposed to increase the charge by £1.00 but it was not clear the extent of the impact of this change.  Additionally it was suggested that a more consistent approach to setting the fees and charges was required, for example some directorates provided a 2014/15 comparison and others did not.  Members also commented that in the future it was necessary to have appropriate officers in attendance at OSC meetings to discuss the proposed charges and to be able to respond to queries on the nature of specific charges.

In light of the report the Committee discussed the detailed proposed fees and charges and commented as follows:-

·         Social Care, Health & Housing (Appendix A1)

Clarity was sought in relation to proposed fees and charges for telecare monitoring services for those who met eligibility criteria and whether VAT had been applied appropriately to these charges.  Members also queried whether costs relating to domiciliary care were per hour for each carer.

Members also queried fees and charges for guest rooms and whether it would be appropriate to increase the proposed charge in light of the comparative costs of rooms elsewhere.  The Social Care, Health and Housing OSC considered a recommendation to increase the proposed charge but it was considered inappropriate to amend the proposed fee at the current time.  It was however agreed that it be reviewed for 2016/17 following a review of the standard of these facilities.

Members queried the nature of immigration survey requests and what these entailed.  In light of responsibilities being added to the role of the Council it was proposed and agreed by the Social Care, Health and Housing OSC that this charge be reviewed with a view to the Executive considering whether the proposed charge was sufficient.

Members also queried whether it was necessary to refer to a ‘renewal’ of a blue badge and whether the weekly price per care home bed for other local authorities was high enough in comparison to our own prices.

RECOMMENDED by the Social Care Health and Housing OSC to Executive that the comments detailed above be considered and that whilst the Committee supports the proposed fees and charges in Appendix A1 in light of the additional responsibilities on the Council relating to immigration surveys the associated charge be reviewed to ensure they were set at an appropriate level  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.