Agenda item

To receive and consider a report reviewing the licensing fees and charges for the current year and proposed changes for 2019/20.

The Committee received the Fees and Charges 2019-20 report which was set out in agenda pages 23-38.  Charlie Fletcher stated that the proposed fees reflected a move towards aligning the fees of the three local authorities in the Public Protection Partnership.

Charlie Fletcher emphasized that fees and charges relating to licences and registrations were based on cost recovery and there was no profit was made.  He also stated that the Officers were seeking approval to round the proposed fees to the nearest whole pound.

During the discussion of the item the following comments were made;

·           Councillor Burgess believed that if objections were received they should be brought back to the Committee rather than them being considered by the Chairman only;

·           Sean Murphy informed that the fees and charges would be submitted to Council in December for final approval;

·           Councillor Burgess was concerned that some fees in relation to vehicle licensing had increased significantly and questioned the rationale for the increase if this was a cost recovering service.  Charlie Fletcher stated that previously the fees were not covering the cost of processing the applications.  He also stated that if the fees were too different from those set at Bracknell, this was likely to create issues;

·           Councillor Richards stated that if the fees were set too high there was a risk that people would not register their applications;

·           Councillor Ferris stated that the cost of the services was not clear and suggested that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman should be ask to review objections to fees and charges;

·           The Chairman stated that there was a desire to align the fees and charges across the three authorities who were part of the Public Protection Partnership;

·           Sean Murphy stated that the PPP had undertaken a review of the whole fees and charges structure and that the proposed fees and charges were more realistic, taking into account the hourly rate;

·           Councillor Burgess felt uncomfortable with some of the proposed increases, she suggested staggering the increase where the fees were going up significantly;

·           Councillor Shepherd-DuBey was concerned that if the fees were not agreed, cuts would have to be made somewhere else to cover the deficit;

·           In response to a question Sean Murphy stated that Wokingham could set different fees and charges to the other PPP authorities;

·           In response to a question Charlie Fletcher stated that licensing functions were supposed to be self-funding, and all authorities worked out their fees and charges on a cost recovery basis;

·           In response to a question Julia O’Brien, Licensing Team Manager stated that the new fees and charges would affect approximately 700 - 800 vehicles and 1000 drivers;

·           It was noted that the proposed fees and charges would be submitted to the next Council for approval;

·           Some Members expressed concern that the proposal showed a big increases in one year.

The Committee agreed to move forward with the recommendations contained in the report.

RESOLVED That:

1)     Save for the vehicle and private hire operator licence fees, the Committee recommends to the Executive the new fees and charges detailed in Annex A, for public consultation;

2)     The Committee agrees that the proposed charges for operators and vehicle licence fees are:

a)     advertised;

b)     if no objections are received, implemented for any licences commencing from 1 April 2019; or

c)      if objections are received they be considered by the Chairman, who will then set those fees and charges for any licences commencing from 1 April 2019

3)     That the Committee uses its discretion to round the proposed fees to the nearest whole pound.