Issue - meetings

The Committee gave consideration to the final report of the evening, presented by the Financial Services Manager (Deputy S151). It was explained that the report detailed the proposed fees and charges to be implemented from 1 April 2025, for services within the Prosperous Communities Committee, and the budget implications which reflected both the impact of proposed amendments to fees, and the forecast demand for each service. Schedules were provided at Appendices A and B to the report.

Members heard that statutory fees accounted for 41% of the fees listed, the most significant in budgetary terms being planning application fees. Guidance issued by the Government indicated that 2025/26 planning fees would be increased in line with the CPI rate as of September, which was 1.7%. The income budget for this service area already included a 2.5% inflationary increase from 2025/26, therefore the impact on the MTFP was a reduction of £11.5k on the income budget. Officers were currently waiting for the Government to release the fee schedule for next year and would report to Members once it was released.

In relation to those fees which were able to be set locally, where inflation had been applied this was at the rate of 3.5%. This reflected the impact of the pay award on service provision, with employee costs and officer time being the main cost driver for most of the proposed fees. Where no increase was proposed, this was to ensure that the Council maintained or increased market share whilst remaining comparable to benchmarking data.

It was explained that the report included the proposed uplift in the garden waste service fee to £46, which increased the total impact on the MTFP from 2025/26 to an increase in income of £48.8k, rising to £63.1k in 2029/30.

There were two new non-statutory fees proposed, the first being an application check for Validation, under the planning Pre-App Advice schedule. This was an optional service to check that planning applications were valid prior to submission. The second new non-statutory fee fell under Planning Policy and was a S106 Monitoring fee to recover the cost of monitoring s106 agreements from the relevant parties.

Members were asked to recommend the proposed fees to the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee for approval, and for inclusion within the 2025/2026 revenue budget.

Members of the Committee recognised that the meeting was taking place ahead of the scheduled Budget Announcement from Government the following day, and enquired as to how those announcements may impact the contents of the report. Additionally, it was requested that the more substantial changes be highlighted within the report, and that nationally agreed targets also be clearly marked. In response, it was acknowledged that the Budget would provide greater context for the Council as to some of the anticipated pressures. There was a Member briefing scheduled following the Budget, however Officers would amend information as necessarily following the announcements.

There was further discussion regarding the importance of reserve funds, and how these may be strengthened or prioritised, as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32