19/10 DECISION UNDER DELEGATED POWERS DECISION CANNOT BE TAKEN BEFORE TUESDAY, 20 APRIL 2010 Title HIGHWAYS & TRANSPORT FEES AND CHARGES 2010/11 Report Author REPORT TO THE CABINET MEMBER FOR ENVIRONMENT & TRANSPORT PURPOSE 1. To recommend increases in fees and charges by more than inflation of 1.5% and to introduce new fees and charges with effect from 1 April 2010. OUTCOMES 2. A decision whether or not to increase specific fees and charges by more than inflation. BACKGROUND 3. The constitution states that it is the responsibility of Directors and Heads of Services to maximise income through charging and trading as well as any other sources of additional funding. 4. Fees and charges must be applied consistently to all and be in accordance with Council Policies. These should be reviewed annually to ensure they remain current and take into account proper inflationary increases and other new charges. 5. Where an increase in fees or charges by more than the inflationary rate is thought appropriate authority must be sought from the cabinet portfolio holder to bring those increases into effect STRATEGIC CONTEXT 6. This report proposes increases of existing or introduction of new charges in the following areas that align with the Council’s Value for Money strategy and contribute to the Corporate Theme of Delvering Better Services: Fees for lost or replacement bus passes 7. Currently the charges made for the replacement for all types of bus pass, whether they be scholars term tickets or free passes for senior citizens or people with disability, are set at £5. It is proposed to increase this charge to £10. 8. In the case of scholar’s term tickets, the fee for provision of a replacement for a lost or damaged pass has not been increased for at least twenty years, despite the fact that these passes are valuable items with a unit cost to the Council of over £500 incurred in their provision. Currently, around 300 replacement passes generating £1,500 income are issued annually. 9. By law, no charge may be made for a first application for a national free bus pass. Fees for replacement of lost or damaged free bus passes for senior citizens and people with disability have been set by the Council at £5 since the inception of the national free fares scheme in April 2006. Currently around 500 replacement passes, generating £2500 income, are issued annually. Coastal Fees and Charges 10. There is a range of fees and charges associated with Newport Harbour and the Coastal Visitors Centre which are detailed in Appendix 1 together with proposed increase for 2010/11. 11. In many cases the proposed charge increase associated with activities at Newport Harbour is below the inflationary rate, although in several the effect of rounding of the charge increase causes it to rise by more than 1.5% and consequently requiring a formal authority to bring those into effect. 12. Charges relating to coastal visitor centre courses are proposed to be increased and rounded upwards to the nearest 50 pence. This results in a proportionally greater percentage increase although the scale of the charges is small in absolute terms. Highway Maintenance Fees and Charges 13. There are a series of activities undertaken on the highway which are commonly charged for by other authorities although hitherto have not been charged on the island. These are detailed in appendix 2 together with proposed charging rates for these. The introduction of these charges would bring the charging regime more inline with other authorities in the region. 14. It is also proposed to increase the scaffold licence application fee from £23 per week to £30 per week for scaffolds erected on the highway which is more in line with the charges made by other authorities. Wightbus Vehicle Hire Charges 15. Wightbus makes vehicles available for private hire for schools and community use. The Council’s budget strategy assumed a 7.5% increase in those hire charges although subsequently Southern Vectis launched a 2 for 1 deal on vehicle hire which significantly undercuts Wightbus’ rates. To maintain a viable business model in the current market conditions it would seem prudent to defer any increase in private hire charges until market forces change or charges are next routinely reviewed as part of the budget strategy for 2011-12. Tourist Parking Permits 16. The recent budget decision provided for the withdrawal of all concessionary parking rates. Subsequent representations have been received from accommodation providers to the effect that their publicity material trails the tourist parking permit and that reservations have been made on the basis of the availability of such a permit. In that light it would seem prudent to defer withdrawal of the tourist permit until the end of the summer season although to increase the cost of those to mitigate against the effect of any financial loss. Proposed increases are detailed in Appendix 3. Long Stay Parking Permit 17. The recently approved budget strategy ratified by full council presumed replacing the previous business permit with a long stay permit valid in our off street car parks and increasing the cost from £481 to £500. However, this increase was not formalised in the amended resolution tabled at full council. There is now a need to formalise the authority to introduce that long stay parking permit at a cost of £500. CONSULTATION Fees for lost or replacement bus passes 18. There has been no formal consultation with user groups on this proposed increase. However, a survey of 173 local authorities published in January 2009 regarding replacement free bus pass fees, revealed that 40% charged £5, 35% charged more than £5, and in some cases up to £20, for a replacement pass. Increasing the charge as proposed would not be out of step with the approach taken by many authorities nationally Coastal Fees and Charges 19. Comprehensive discussions have taken place with the Newport Harbour Master to assess the likely impact of these proposals and it is felt the proposed charges are fair and will not deter patronage. Highway Maintenance Fees and Charges 20. None Wightbus Vehicle Hire Charges 21. Whilst there has been no formal consultation the increased charged rates have been discussed with a user sample and compared with those offered by the commercial sector. This indicated a likelihood that users would choose to use a different operator if charges were substantially increased. Tourist Parking Permits 22. Consultation with accommodation providers indicate that their publicity has trailed the availability of tourist parking permits for the coming season. It is felt that withdrawal of this concession for tourists only in the lead up to the season would undermine the tourist economy. Long Stay Parking Permit 23. There has been no formal consultation on replacing the previous business permit with a long stay permit valid in all of our off street car parks and increasing the cost from £481 to £500 although comparisons have been made with the cost of similar permits in neighbouring authorities. 24. Some local authorities allow people the ability to pay for parking in a single nominated car park and the table below indicates a range of charges in place elsewhere. This kind of discount is not universally available. Local Authority Price £ (per annum) Bristol City Council 1848 Southampton 1664 Eastleigh Borough Council 1120 Bournemouth Borough Council 1089 Hart District Council 1050 Salisbury 1045 Portsmouth 1040 West Berkshire 900 East Hants District Council 783 Horsham 800 FINANCIAL/BUDGET IMPLICATIONS 25. The overall effect of this package of increases to fees and charges which also provides for the retention of the tourist parking permit for the summer season is a net increase in income in the order of £2,000 as detailed below, based on existing usage. All figures are net of VAT. Fees for lost or replacement bus passes 26. The increased charge for a replacement pass from £5 to £10 will generate an additional £4,000 annually, with the annual total for all replacement passes rising from £4,000 to £8,000, of which scholars passes represent £3,000 income and free bus passes £5,000 income. Coastal Fees and Charges 27. Additional income generated from these proposed increases in fees and charges is estimated to be less than £1,000. Prudently an increase in income of £200 is assumed. Highway Maintenance Fees and Charges 28. The introduction of the range of new fees and charges detailed in Appendix 2 is estimated to generate an additional income of £32,000. 29. The increase of scaffold license fees from £23 per week to £30 per week would generate an additional income of £2,800 assuming 200 licences are issued per annum for a maximum of two weeks at a time. Wightbus Vehicle Hire Charges 30. Deferring the proposed increase in Wightbus vehicle hire charges would reduce the budget strategy income assumption by £7,000. The subsequent changes in the market place have established a significant risk that this strategy would undermine market share such that the anticipated increase in income would not be achieved. Tourist Parking Permits 31. Retaining tourist parking permits for tourists only would reduce the net anticipated increase in income assumption in the budget strategy through ticket machines by in the order of £50,000 although this would be off set by the proposed increases in charges and reduce the impact to £30,000. Long Stay Parking Permit 32. The effect of replacing the previous business permit with a long stay permit valid in our off street car parks and increasing the cost from £481 to £500 has already been assumed in the council’s budget strategy and consequently will have no further impact.