Agenda item

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published elsewhere)

Cllr E Seward – Portfolio Holder for Finance and Assets introduced the report and informed Members that it outlined which charges were set by Government and those set by the District.

Questions and Discussion

      i.        Cllr V Holliday referred to non-statutory charges such as filming, and asked whether there was any scope for further increase in-line with the true rate of inflation. Cllr E Seward replied that whilst the Council did have discretion to set these charges, the fees and charges set-out within the report had been recommended for 2023-24. The DFC stated that whilst there was discretion for the non-statutory charges, competition had to be taken into account and charges were set to remain competitive with neighbouring authorities. He added that raising charges further would ultimately act to deter interest and lower the overall revenue generated by the Council. Cllr V Holliday asked whether the fees and charges had at least been benchmarked to determine whether they were competitive with neighbouring authorities. The DFC replied that it would be difficult to benchmark charges such as filming on the Pier, as this was a unique location. The Chairman noted that market forces would always impact fees and charges, but it would be helpful to better understand this impact.

     ii.        Cllr H Blathwayt noted that he had previously set charges for commercial piers which had been a difficult process, with charges often going in the opposite direction to inflation.

    iii.        Cllr P Heinrich noted that customers and residents all helped to generate income for the Council, and they too could be struggling financially under the current circumstances.

   iv.        Cllr T Adams stated that discussions with other Council Leaders across the County had suggested that some garden waste collection fees were up to £20 higher than NNDC’s, which had only risen in-line with inflation. He added that whilst some fees could potentially be raised further, the Council had to remain competitive and fair to its customers.

     v.        The DFC suggested that it may be helpful for Members to see comparison data on filming and garden bin charges in order to justify the recommendations. Cllr Holliday and Cllr Housden agreed that this would be useful, whilst Cllr Withington and Cllr Penfold raised concerns that requesting a range of additional information could strain the limited resources available during the budget-setting process. It was agreed that comparison data could be provided on filming and garden bin charges in February, with Cllr V Holliday proposing the request and Cllr N Housden seconding.

   vi.        The recommendations to Council were proposed by Cllr H Blathwayt and seconded by Cllr P Heinrich.

RESOLVED

1.    To recommend to Full Council: a) The fees and charges from 1 April 2023 as included in Appendix A. b) That Delegated Authority be given to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and relevant Heads of Service, to agree those fees and charges not included within Appendix A as required as outlined within the report.

2.    To request that comparison data on filming and garden bin charges be added to the work programme for consideration in February.