Fees and charges endorsed
Author: Local Government Chronicle |
Cash-starved councils should not be deterred from raising charges and fees during the recession, the Audit Commission has said.
Fees raised from services such as parking and planning have plummeted in the past year as the economy has contracted.
Meanwhile, any suggestion of increased charges being imposed instead of more transparent council tax rises is likely to spark fears that businesses and residents are facing stealth taxes.
Speaking at a Local Government Association (LGA) conference on the 6 May 2009, Audit Commission director of studies John Kirkpatrick said that “in hard times charging remains a flexible and versatile tool”. But he stressed decisions on new fees or increased charges were best made locally.
Mr Kirkpatrick said: “If the considerations and the decisions around charging are understood by local people, it seems to us that there is every very reason to be positive about charging in the current circumstances.”
Addressing the issue of what and how much to charge, he added: “Charging is a good way of raising revenue to support services. The questions you need to ask yourselves have not changed.”