Contact: Bevis Ingram, ext 7508

Stuart Dorward, ext 6110

1. Introduction

1.1 All County Council services are expected to review their charges annually. In addition, with the creation of the Recreation and Heritage Department and the agreement of Members to a new set of objectives we can take the opportunity to review charging policy to ensure it assists us in achieving these objectives. This report recommends a way forward for setting charges from 2003.

1.2 The report examines the background to the current procedures for setting charges, the legal basis of charging for services and goes on to propose an overall policy framework. In summary, this report recommends that charges for statutory services be put to the Executive Member for specific approval. All other charges would be set by service managers within specific guidelines that would require consideration of budget and business plan targets, legal constraints, general principles of equity and fairness, Member approved policies on concessions and most importantly `market forces'.

2. Background

2.1 Under the former committee arrangements the various panels of the Recreation and Heritage Committee carried out annual reviews of charges for their respective services. Last year, all charges that would have been considered by the panels were consolidated in a single report for decision by the Executive Member. The Policy Review Committee had the opportunity to comment on the proposals before the Executive Member came to a decision.

2.2 The charges included in the report to the Executive Member last year were:

Libraries - full range of charges

Museums - admission charges for museums not subject to joint management arrangements with District Councils and other partners and group charges at Search

Country Parks - admission charges, parking charges and season tickets

Hampshire Record Office - full range of charges

2.3 A variety of income earning activities that form an essential ingredient of the Recreation and Heritage services were not covered by the formal reviews in the past. These included sales from shops in country parks and museums, ticket sales for arts events, charges to business and out of county users of outdoor centres and other charges for the hire of facilities (e.g. barbecues at countryside sites). These were set by managers on a cost plus or market price basis taking account of local conditions and specific income targets. This practice developed over time and has led to some inconsistencies between and within services in the way charges were applied. The formation of the new Department provides an opportunity to look at the policy on charging across the portfolio, check it against agreed Member objectives and construct an appropriate framework for setting charges in the future.

2.4 A relevant consideration here is the need to maintain and increase income to meet general budget requirements or specific business plan targets but without inhibiting the fundamental purpose of the Department, which is increasing use. The revenue earned through fees and charges has become an important element of the financial support for the Recreation and Heritage services in recent years. It will continue to be significant within the new strategic direction for the Department, with its emphasis on expanding the user base of services, wider access and innovation. Increasing the capacity to generate income through complementary activities operated on a trading basis will be a key factor in contributing to an expansion and improvement of services.

3. Legal Basis of Charging

3.1 There is a diverse legal basis for the charges made by local authorities for the services they provide. It is possible to make a broad distinction between statutory charges and discretionary charges. With the former, the charge is governed by specific legal provisions. The level of charge may be prescribed by regulation or set by the local authority. Within the Recreation and Heritage Department the charges made in libraries and the fees charged in relation to the closure or diversion of public paths fall into the statutory category.

3.2 Charges for facilities in public libraries are governed by regulations issued in 1991 under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964. These regulations are framed in a way that gives local authorities the power to charge for a wide range of services and complete discretion over the level of the charges. However, they specifically preclude charges for the core library function of lending written material.

3.3 The County Council, as a highway authority, has powers under the Highways Act 1980 to make orders for the creation, closure or diversion of public paths. These powers are administered by the Rights of Way Office of the Countryside Service. The charges made to individuals and organisations applying for such orders are governed by regulations issued in 1993. These originally imposed a limit on the maximum level of charges, but the ceiling was removed by amending regulations in 1996. The current level of the charges was approved by the former Rights of Way Panel in November 1996. The current policy on closures and diversions, agreed earlier this year, is to accept applications only where these are clearly in the public interest. This will allow the Rights of Way Office to concentrate its efforts on the review of the Definitive Map. Charges will be reviewed when this work has been completed.

3.4 All other charges made in the Recreation and Heritage Department fall in the discretionary category. Discretionary charges are those where the County Council has the freedom, within the legal power to provide a particular service, to decide whether or not to make charges for elements of the service and on the level of any charges made.

4. Policy Considerations

4.1 The cost of providing the services offered by the Recreation and Heritage Department are met out of national and local taxation to varying degrees. Within each service it is important to determine whether specific activities should be seen as part of the public core service paid for in this way or whether they are offered on the basis of `added value' with the user meeting all or part of the cost.

4.2 Using the library service as an example, provision of the public book lending service clearly falls in the former category and charging for the service is specifically precluded by legislation. Providing photocopying facilities in libraries is an additional service, the cost of which is met by the user. But it is not always easy to make the distinction. For example, a reservation service could be regarded as an essential component of a "free" public library service. However, most public libraries, including Hampshire's, make a small charge for book reservations which is highly valued by users. Also, there may be valid reasons for making charges as part of what is basically a "free" public service to reinforce the core service e.g. fines for overdue library books, charges for the replacement of lost library tickets.

4.3 It is a generally accepted principle that access to the services provided by the County Council should be on an equitable basis, with nobody disadvantaged by social position or geography. Where charges are made for services, this implies that they should be uniform in their effect across the County and across all users. Applying this principle to the Recreation and Heritage Services highlights a number of issues.

4.4 Firstly, it is important to look at the extent to which services are really provided on the same basis across the County. Clearly, the public library and statutory rights of way services fall into this category and it is appropriate to have a standard tariff for the charges levied in relation to these core legal responsibilities. Some services (e.g. Hampshire Record Office) are currently provided from a single site and, in effect, the charges made operate on a County-wide basis. Although services in other parts of Recreation and Heritage are available across the County, the nature and quality of the facilities offered and the market conditions vary considerably between locations. It is for these reasons that the practice has developed of setting charges for these services on a site specific basis to match local circumstances and to meet specific budget targets and markets.

4.5 A related issue is that of concessions i.e. whether charges to particular individuals or groups should be reduced or waived entirely. The inconsistencies of charges for older people was raised by Members in their discussion last year. A variety of concessions are currently offered to children, students, older people and people with disabilities. Practice is not consistent between services e.g. no concessions are currently given to older people on library fines and charges, but reduced rate charges are available for admission to certain museums and countryside sites. Members may wish to consider whether it is necessary or desirable to offer age or status related concessions on a uniform basis across all Recreation and Heritage services. Similarly, Members may wish to consider whether it would be appropriate, in the case of site specific charges, to offer reduced rates to local residents.

4.6 There is also the question of reduced rates for frequent use. Season tickets are currently available for car parking at the Lepe and Queen Elizabeth Country Parks and purchase of a general "Countryside Pass" season ticket gives free access to a range of Countryside Service sites. Consideration could be given to extending this idea to other sites and facilities and the introduction of a more general "Recreation and Heritage" or "County Council" pass.

4.7 There would clearly be a need to examine any proposed policy on concessions against practices elsewhere in the County Council. In certain circumstances it may be appropriate to consider the policies of other providers of similar facilities in a locality. Also, it will be necessary to establish sound qualification criteria and to work out how policies could be made operational at minimal cost. While members may wish to see concessions for particular groups, it is important to bear in mind the possible effect on the base budget. Changes should only be made with a full knowledge of the likely impact on the use of services, the level of income generated and the local market. There may also be practical difficulties in the application of concessions in some areas. For example, it would clearly be difficult to operate age or status related concessions at countryside site car parks where charges are collected through automatic ticket machines.

5. Charging Policy

5.1 With these considerations in mind, it is suggested that the following policy framework should be recommended to the Executive Member as the basis for setting charges in the Recreation and Heritage Department in future:

· Specific approval to the level of charges for statutory functions should be given by the Executive Member (i.e. library fines, reservation fees and charges made for replacement borrower tickets; fees charged in relation to public path creation, closure or diversion orders)

· All other charges should be determined by service managers

5.2 In both cases the level of charges should be set having regard to the following factors:

· Budget and business plan targets

· Legal constraints

· General principles of equity and fairness

· Market forces

· Specific policies on concessions to groups or individuals.

Recommendation

That the Committee considers the framework and rationale for deciding the level of charges within Recreation and Heritage, as set out in the Report, and in particular, the policy covering concessions, and submits these views to the Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage for his consideration.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

Published works.

Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

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