Purpose

To provide a list of all the Discretionary Fees & Charges to
be Consulted on for 2026/27

Content

 The Cabinet considered a report of the
Director of Corporate Services, which sought to update on the
revised discretionary fees and charges for 2026/27 and to request
approval to commence the relating public consultation.
 
The Cabinet Member
Finance and Growth delivered a brief summary of the report’s
key points.
 
The Deputy Chief
Finance Officer was in attendance to present the information and
respond to questions and comments from the Cabinet
Members.
 
The Senior Officer
informed that Discretionary Fees and Charges were reviewed on an
annual basis. At Cabinet 29th July 2025 a 2% general increase in
Discretionary Fees and Charges for 2026/27 had been agreed for
planning purposes, subject to exemptions to be agreed.
 
Inflation had
remained high during 2025/26, putting additional pressure on
Council running costs, and so the proposed increase in
Discretionary Fees and Charges had been increased to 3%. This would
generate additional income and bring the charges more in line with
general inflationary increases.
 
The report
detailed the proposed Discretionary Fees and Charges for 2026/27 as
a basis for consultation, and detailed those charges proposed to be
exempt or different from the general 3% increase.
 
The report
detailed the new proposed Discretionary Fees and Charges for
2026/27 for consultation.
 
Resolved:

1.    
That the updated Discretionary Fees and Charges included in
appendix 1 to the report for 2026/27, as a basis for consultation
be agreed;

2.    
That it be noted that a 1% change to the Discretionary Fees
& Charges would mean an increase or decrease of c £42k.
Any change to the percentage increase could be considered as part
of the consultation;

3.    
That the charges exempt from the general 3% increase, as set
out in paragraph 5.3 to the report be agreed;

4.    
That the different percentage increases, as set out in
paragraph 5.4 to the report be agreed;

5.    
That the proposed new Discretionary Fees & Charges as set
out in paragraph 5.5 to the report be agreed;

6.    
That it be noted that the Town Hall charges had been removed
from the Discretionary Fees & Charges report as they had been
approved via a Delegated Decision Notice in consultation with the
relevant Cabinet Member.
 
Reason for
decision:
The fees and
charges in the report and appendix 1 had been proposed by each
Directorate, taking into account the 3% general uplift in
Discretionary Fees and Charges.
It was recommended
that no uplift is applied to the fees and charges detailed in
paragraph 5.3 to the report.
It was recommended
that the fees and charges in paragraph 5.4 to the report were
uplifted by the amounts stated.
It was recommended
that the new fees and charges in paragraph 5.5 to the report be
approved for consultation.
 
Alternatives
considered and rejected:
The alternative
was not to review or increase the fees and charges. This would
potentially reduce the income available to the Council and make it
more difficult to achieve a balanced budget.