Issue - meetings

Report of Assistant Director of Finance (S151 Officer)

Purpose of report

This report is to provide information to the Committee on proposed Fees and Charges as compared to some other districts to feed back to the Executive as part of the 2025/26 Budget and Business Planning Process.

Recommendations

The Budget Planning Committee resolves:

1.1         To note the variances between the council’s fees and charges and those of other Oxfordshire districts.

1.2         To recommend to Executive any fees and charges that should be considered for an increase of more than the 2% minimum which is the level already assumed in the council’s planning assumptions.

Resolved

1.1          That the variances between the council’s fees and charges and those of other Oxfordshire districts be noted.

1.2          That Executive be recommended to consider an increase of more than the 2% minimum which is the level already assume in the Council’s planning assumptions to the following fees and charges.

·         Planning application fees

·         Dog bin emptying charges

·         Election charges

1.3          That  Executive be recommended to give further consideration on an ongoing basis to proposed increases to car parking charges.

The Assistant Director of Finance (S151 Officer) submitted a report which provided information to the Committee on the council’s proposed 2025/2026 Fees and Charges benchmarked against other districts within Oxfordshire. The Committee were invited to feed back to the Executive as part of the 2025/26 Budget and Business Planning Process.

In introducing the report, the Head of Finance advised that the planning assumption on the fees and charges in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy assumed that fees and charges would be rise by a minimum of 2%. Services of the Council had been asked to review the proposed fees and charges to investigate if any fees and charges could have been raised more than 2%.

Following a question from the Committee regarding the proposed increase in car parking charges, the Head of Finance advised that car parking charges had been treated separately to other fees and charges. Car parking fees would be raised by 10p. Members debated the need for the proposed changes to car parking charges and requested further information in relation to the trial of free parking that took place for a limited period in 2023 at some council operated Banbury Town Centre car parks and if that trial had resulted in an increased footfall within the town centre.

In response to a question from the Committee querying the proposed 50%increase of the charge to collect stray dogs, Officers advised that further information would be requested after the meeting including numbers of stray dogs collected by the Council, and this information would be distributed to Members after the meeting.

It was proposed by Councillor Rogers and seconded by Councillor Reeves that Executive consider an increase of more than 2% for the fees and charges relating to planning application fees, dog bin emptying chargers and election charges.

Further to the Committee’s discussions on car parking charges, it was proposed by Councillor Reeves and seconded by Councillor Rogers that, Executive be recommended to give consideration on an ongoing basis to increases to car parking charges.

Resolved

(1)  That the variances between the council’s fees and charges and those of other Oxfordshire districts be noted.

(2)  That Executive be recommended to consider an increase of more than the 2% minimum which is the level already assume in the Council’s planning assumptions to the following fees and charges.

·         Planning application fees

·         Dog bin emptying charges

·         Election charges

(3)  That Executive be recommended to give further consideration on an ongoing basis to proposed increases to car parking charges.