Issue - meetings

Report to follow.

The Committee considered the Fees and Charges under the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee’s remit as part of the annual Budget process. Following previous guidance from the Committee, all statutory fees were recommended to increase by the maximum permissible by the regulator, and all discretionary fees were recommended to increase by at least 5%.

The Committee noted that the process of increasing discretionary fees by a percentage resulted in odd pences. It was proposed by Councillor Beecher and seconded by Councillor Gibson that these figures be rounded up to the nearest £5 or £10 figure. The Chair acknowledged concern from some of the Committee with the proposal and suggested that the figures instead be rounded up to the nearest pound. A vote was taken, and a majority of the Committee agreed with the amended proposal.

Some members of the Committee expressed discomfort with the proposal as on smaller charges it may result in a disproportionate increase. After some discussion, the Committee suggested that this should be applied only to discretionary fees and charges over £25, with other proposed fees and charges left unrounded.

A recorded vote was requested and the results were as follows:

The Committee resolved to:

1.    Approve the proposed Fees and Charges for 2024-25 for this Committee with the exception of any discretionary fees and charges over £25 which will be rounded up to the nearest pound.