To review the charges for fees to be levied to the general public by the Public Services Division within the County Secretary and Solicitor's Department with effect from 1^st April 2005.

To increase fees for the Land charge services for 2005/2006 in line with inflation and to cover increased staff and service costs, and bring the Council's charges for these services into line with fees being charged by other councils bordering the County. In most cases they also assume that income maximisation should be the goal. It is agreed that the proposed new fees, as detailed in the schedule below, should take effect on 1^st April 2005:

Land Charge search fees

The level of fees proposed is estimated to cover the cost of the service provided. Customs and Excise have indicated that the proposed fees are exempt from VAT because they relate to a non-business activity of the Council.

The Audit Commission has published a management paper on fees and charges entitled ' The Price is Right '. This report identified that Best Value provides an excellent opportunity to use charges for services to assist in the delivery of priorities, improve services and generate income.

With consistent falls in revenue support grant and other budgetary pressures the Audit Commission consider that Council's need to focus on other sources of income and the level of service they can fund. If individual service areas cannot contribute directly towards the Council's ambitions and policies then the assumption is that income maximisation should be the goal.

Our own District Audit, in a Management letter to the Council pointed out that whilst charges are inevitably about raising income, they are also central to how services are delivered, and can be used to control access, respond to competition, fund investment and influence user behaviour.

There are no viable alternative options.