Agenda item

Purpose of report

To set out the proposed fees and charges for the financial year 2026/27.

Decision

Cabinet recommended to Council:

1.    The discretionary Fees and Charges for 2026/27 set out at Appendix A of the report.

2.    The statutory Fees and Charges for 2026/27 set out at Appendix B of the report.

3.    That HMO licence fees were not part of recommendations 1 and 2 above, as they were subject to further work by officers. An updated schedule of charges would be presented to Council on 29 January 2026.

4.    The charging policy set out in Appendix C of the report.

5.    That the annual bin collection charge for green waste increase by £2 to £55 and that each subsequent bin is increased by £1 to £45 for the 2026/2027 financial year.

6.    To delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive and s151 Officer in consultation with Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member for Finance, HR and Economic Development to set the commercial charges for Building Control.

Other options considered

There were a number of options outlined within section 2 of the report.

Reasons for the decision

Fees and charges were an integral part of the budget setting process and were reviewed on an annual basis.

The report had been considered by the Budget Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) on 13 January 2026.

The following information was highlighted during debate:

·       Some authorities had a ‘sliding scale’ of charges related to houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs) but this was not the case in SKDC where all HMOs were charged the identical fees and charges regardless of the number of rooms. Officers were investigating the possibility of introducing a sliding scale and therefore Cabinet made an additional recommendation to Council.

• A detailed discussion about the future of the green waste service took place at Environment OSC on 13 January. The debate informed Cabinet’s recommendation to Council that the annual collection charge for green waste increased by £2 to £55 for a first bin, and by £1 to £45 for a second or subsequent bin. The original proposal seen by Environment OSC was a slightly lower amount per bin, but this included the cessation of green bin collections in January and February.
  • There was a series of analyses on the costs the waste service incurred, this was in the process of being translated into a more user-friendly format.
  • There was a higher recommended cost for the first green bin rather than subsequent bins due to economies of scale. There were c31,000 customers in receipt of a green bin, of which c,5,000 have a further bin. Further information would be received by Environment OSC in due course.
  • The money raised from green bins provided a significant contribution towards the cost of the service; however, it did not cover the whole amount.
  • The cost of collecting a 2^nd or subsequent bin wasn’t equal to the first as the waste lorries were already on the premises to collect the initial bin.
• Building control fees were not included within the Cabinet reports pack because they were commercially sensitive. Cabinet recommended to Council that delegated authority be given to the Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer to determine these fees in consultation with the Cabinet Member.
• The Cabinet Member for Property and Public Engagement confirmed there was no pressure to increase overall revenue from parking charges in the next year. The car parking review aimed to make the fairest use of parking spaces across the district.