Agenda item

Cabinet gave consideration to the report of the Head of Housing and Community that detailed the latest review of the Council’s fees and charges for 2021/22 and the proposed recommended increases.  Fees and charges were reviewed each year taking into account the increased need to recover the total cost of the services provided and the cost of inflation, assumed at 0.5%.  The anticipated income from these charges was built into the draft Revenue Budget for 2021/22.  Charges were rounded to the nearest 25p if under £50.00 or the nearest £1.00 if over £50.00.

The majority of the fees and charges within the appendices were recommended to increase at 0.5% with the following exceptions:

Allotments (Appendix 1): Following the establishment of the Bexhill-on-Sea Parish (Town) Council, responsibility and legalities of the allotments would transfer and the new rates would be set and agreed by the new Parish (Town) Council. Therefore, it was recommended that the allotment charges remained unchanged for 2021/22.

Beach and Foreshore (Appendix 3): As beach huts remained in high demand, it was recommended that the fees be increased by £9 per licence to £530 per annum at 1.7% for 2021/22.  It was also recommended that charges for Seasonal Tent sites increased by 1.7% to £368 for the six months season.  Other foreshore services e.g. winch and boat licences would increase at 0.5%.

Car Parking (Appendix 4): As a result of the introduction of Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE), the Council had introduced car parking charges to car parks that were previously free, changed some existing charges and aligned some charges with equivalent areas in the district.  In October 2020, an Off-Street Car Parks Task and Finish Group had been established to consider the impact of CPE on the Council’s off-street car parks.  Therefore, it was recommended that the car parking charges remained unchanged for 2021/22 until the Task and Finish Group had concluded their investigations.  Due to significant increase in costs to manage Camber Western Car park during 2020, it was recommended that the summer season tariffs (from 1 April to 30 September) be increased in all Camber Sands car parks.  The charges would be as follows: £6 (1 to 3 hours); £12 (3 to 6 hours); and £15 (for 6 hours +).

Bulky Waste Collection (Appendix 5a): It was recommended that the fee for the Council collecting one to three bulky waste items increased to £40.00.  Clarity was sought on whether the income achieved justified the costs of clearing up fly-tipping.  Members were advised that the cost to clear up one illegal waste deposit was approximately £70 per fly-tip.  Fly-tipping was an additional cost for the Council and appeared to be an increasing illegal activity across the District.  Officers were asked to closely monitor the income achieved against the cost of the service.

Garden Waste Collections (Appendix 5b): The charge for garden waste had been increased from 15 July 2020 to £40 for all new customers subscribing to the service.  As a result of COVID-19 and the suspension of the service the subscription was held at £35 for renewed customers.  For comparison the garden waste subscription charges in neighbouring authorities were confirmed as Hastings £70; Eastbourne £52; Lewes £70 and Wealden £50.

The total cost of the service was approximately £930,000 per annum.  The projected income for 2021/22 at £40 per annum per bin at the current rate of subscribers (19,600) was approximately £790,000, leaving a deficit of £140,000.  It was therefore recommended that the annual subscription be increased to £45 per annum which would result in an income of £890,000 which would reduce the deficit considerably.  The garden waste contract had a tiered charging structure; a lower cost would be applied once 20,000 subscribers were achieved.  Officers were currently investigating ways to incentivise new subscribers to the service before March 2021.  Members were supportive of delegated authority being granted to the Head of Housing and Community, in consultation with the Portfolio Holders for Finance and Performance Management and Environment and Place to implement an incentive scheme.

Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 (Appendix 6): It was recommended that the charges for scrap metal remain unchanged for 2021/22.

Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) (Appendix 7):  As a revisit to rate a premises under the FHRS was not a statutory duty, it was recommended that the scale of fees in the appendix to the report was introduced.

Health Certificates (for food exported) (Appendix 8):Food exported to countries outside the EU required a health certificate.  It was recommended that the scale of fees in the appendix to the report was introduced.

Houses of Multiple Occupation [HMO] Licences (Appendix 9):  A recent Supreme Court judgement had determined that local authorities must have two sets of fees.  One fee to cover the costs of applying for a licence (non-refundable) and one for issuing the licence and on-going enforcement.  It was recommended that the Council had a combined fee to reflect the reduced administration costs associated with only one fee being paid.  Therefore, it was recommended that the scale of fees in the appendix to the report was introduced.

Cabinet was satisfied that the increases put forward were not considered to be excessive. Members were mindful that to maintain income, a balance had to be struck between covering costs and retaining custom.

RESOLVED: That:

1)    the charges shown in Appendices 1 – 6 be approved and brought into effect for 1 April 2021;

2)    the charges in Appendix 5(b) be brought into effect from July 2021;

3)    the charges in Appendix 9 be brought into effect from January 2021; and

4)    the Head of Housing and Community, in consultation with the Portfolio Holders for Finance and Performance Management and Environment and Place be granted delegated authority to implement an incentive scheme for new garden waste customers who sign up before March 2021.

(Councillor Brewerton declared a Personal Interest in this matter as a she had two children buried in Bexhill Cemetery and in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct remained in the meeting during the consideration thereof).