ENVIRONMENT & TRANSPORT SELECT COMMITTEE - 30TH
JULY 2004
CHARGING
AND TRADING UNDER THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 2003
REPORT OF HEAD OF ENGINEERING SERVICES
The Local Government Act 2003 provides a new charging power for best value authorities, including all local authorities, to charge for discretionary services. An authority can only charge for discretionary services that it provides. It cannot charge for mandatory services which it is legally required to provide.
ACTION REQUIRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE
To establish a task group that will review the implications of the new charging powers available to the Council under the Local Government Act 2003 and to provide recommendations on the charging policy that should be adopted by the Engineering Services Department.
BACKGROUND
For any discretionary service that an authority chooses to provide there must be legal authorisation for providing it. For authorities considering the introduction of new discretionary activities the power of first resort will be the well-being power under Section 2 of the Local Government Act 2000. There will be very few activities that cannot be authorised under specific legislation under the well-being power, unless there is a specific prohibition.
In order to rely on the well-being power, it is necessary to demonstrate that the proposed activities come within the legal provision of that power. A case would therefore need to be made to show how the proposed activities are likely to promote the economic or environmental well-being of the area.
The power to charge under the 2003 Act imposes a duty to secure that, taking one financial year with another, the income from charges does not exceed the cost of provision.
Within the framework provided by the 2003 Act to recover no more than the cost of provision of the service, authorities will have the flexibility to set charges as they think fit. In particular, authorities may charge only some people using the service or charge different people different amounts for the provision of the same service. This allows authorities to build anti-poverty and social inclusion strategies within the charging policies that they develop.
RELEVANT PLANS, POLICIES, STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Charging
for discretionary services will provide an opportunity to maximise Council
resources and enable a sustainable budgetary management approach to key
services.
CONSULTATION
PROCESS
The
Council may wish to consult on the charging policy recommendations made by the
Select Committee Task Group.
The Local Government Act 2003 provides the opportunity for a new charging power for all local authorities.
FINANCIAL, LEGAL, CRIME AND DISORDER IMPLICATIONS
Charging for discretionary services will impact positively on existing budgets.
BACKGROUND PAPERS USED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT
Local Government Act 2003.
Contact: Mr Stephen Matthews, Head of Engineering Services
Tel: (01983) 823702
E-mail:
[email protected]
STEPHEN MATTHEWS
Head of Engineering Services