*RESOLVED
That Cabinet approves in principle all of the recommendations of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum report on Concessions on Fees and Charges as set out below, but that before the implementation of any resolution that could have a financial implication to the Council, further investigation on the impact is carried out by officers and brought to Cabinet for consideration.
I. That any concessions made on fees and charges are used as part of a dynamic and agile pricing approach for services, where the overall objective is that total costs are covered.
II. That the concessionary rates of reduction made on bulky waste and pest control services is reduced from 50% to 20%.
III. That the cost of providing concessions, along with the provision of less popular or costly services is supported by revenue from higher demand services and services paid for at the full rate.
IV. That Leisure Services and Theatres continue to have the freedom to vary the rate of concessions offered in order to manage demand.
V. That services establish the unit cost of providing a service before setting a price for a service. The costing of services should include all possible applicable costs, both fixed and variable involved in delivering a service such as buildings, staff, materials and IT.
VI. That where appropriate, services should only advertise that concessions are available, rather than listing all concessionary categories at the point of a service being enquired about.
VII. That concessionary discounts for services should only be granted after entitlement of eligibility for the concessionary rate has been confirmed.
VIII. That the concessionary categories for all services are updated to include the categories of:
i. Universal credit, with no earned income.
ii. Universal Credit with a housing element included.
IX That the Sports and Leisure Manager reviews the published list of categories giving entitlement to concessionary rates so that the list is shorter, clearer and easier to understand by service users.
X. That concessionary reductions on fees and charges for services are not offered solely on the basis of age.
XI. That a member and officer working group is established to develop a corporate policy on concessions and that:
i. the corporate policy on concessions on fees and charges includes all the recommendations made by the project group.
ii. that the members of the scrutiny project group on concessions on fees and charges are included in the working group.
REASONS FOR DECISIONS
To provide a more coherent approach to offering concessions made on fees and charges.
That the approach to offering concessions on fees and charges should be informed by equalities considerations as well with consideration to the costs involved in providing the service and any subsequent concessions.