Issue - meetings

The Executive Member for Finance and Support Services submitted a report offering the opportunity to review the current structure of fees and charges within the remit of Environment Scrutiny Committee.

The Head of Strategic Finance summarised the key principles on which fees and charges were set and the types of charges.  He also sought Members’ views on whether there were any fees and charges which required review, adding that many of the charges within Environment Committee’s remit were statutory.  The Head of Strategic Finance told the Committee that in a previous meeting with Corporate Business Scrutiny Committee, Members had asked that information regarding usage figures be included alongside the fees/charges so that the impact of any suggested changes could be better understood.  This idea was supported by Environment Scrutiny Committee.

The Head of Strategic Finance reminded Members that the MTFP had been set based on an increase of 2.5% but this figure was an overall percentage, not necessarily levied on every fee/charge Heads of Service were currently drafting their budgets and any comments would be fed back to relevant Officers for further review by the joint meeting of Scrutiny Committees in 2016. 

The Committee supported the recommendations now detailed.

RESOLVED – that the Executive be advised that usage figures be included by Officers when revising the fees and charges structure for 2016/17 for services under the remit of Environment Scrutiny Committee.