Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources (S151 Officer). To be presented by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST FOR THIS ITEM:

None

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1. Agreed the proposed non-statutory fees and charges to be levied by the Council with effect from 1 April 2026, unless otherwise stated.

2. Noted the statutory fees and charges to be levied by the Council with effect from 1 April 2026.

3. Noted that the Council’s draft 2026/27 Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2026/27–2030/31 assumed that the changes to Fees and Charges set out in this report were agreed.

4. Agreed that authority be delegated to the Director of Corporate Resources in consultation with the Member for Finance and Corporate Services to make any subsequent in-year changes or additions to the fees and charges proposed in this report.

Authority was delegated to the Head of Highways and Parking to:

1. Carry out all required statutory consultations regarding the proposed changes to charges and parking policy.

2. Make all necessary traffic management orders (“TMOs”), having considered any objections received in response to the statutory consultation, to implement the proposed changes, subject to key decisions being considered by Cabinet.

3. Where the Head of Highways and Parking considered appropriate, decide to either:
(i) not proceed with, or
(ii) modify one or more of the proposed TMOs to address any matters arising from the statutory consultation, or
(iii) refer the matter(s) to Cabinet for determination.

Reasons for Decision

Under the Council’s Income Policy, it was a requirement to review fees and charges as a minimum annually. Given the ongoing challenges facing the Council, this was even more appropriate.

Alternative Options Considered

This report summarised the conclusions after consideration of a range of alternative approaches dependent on particular services and relevant factors. As such, a range of alternative options—ranging from no increase to differentiated rates of increases or decreases—had been considered and were reflected in this report.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services introduced the report.

It was explained that the Council’s ambition was for a fairer and greener Haringey and that the fees and charges that collected were needed to support and maintain local public services. It was explained that the Council considered affordability alongside the need for investment when setting fees and charges and that, most fees did not rise above inflation. It was noted that there were some increases where the Council had brought the price towards the cost of delivering the services to protect the service in the longer term. It was explained that the Council had also compared the proposed fees and charges to those charged by other similar boroughs. It was additionally noted that, in some cases, the Council had lowered fees.

Following questions from Councillor Connor, the following information was shared:

It was explained that the Council considered fees and charge rises in terms of service utilisation. It was noted by the Cabinet Member that, where it was expected that any increase would deter use of a service, that the fees were not increased. It was additionally explained that any fees and charge rises considered a multitude of factors, including the standard increase, service needs and cost of delivery, and benchmarks against other comparable authorities, to determine any increases.