Issue details

The background
In 2024 the Cabinet member for Resources, Councillor Elliot made a Single Member Decision E3550 approving B&NES legal fees and charges and delegated authority to the Monitoring Officer as follows:

These charges will be reviewed annually by the Head of Legal & Democratic Services & Monitoring Officer, who will continue to review in light of the UK Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) and amend on an increase only basis from 1st June 2024 – to 31st May 2028 [the intervening period].

In light of the ongoing financial pressures facing the Council, the Service has reviewed its fees and charges and proposes an upward only increase inline with CPI at the rate of 4%. Figures quoted at Appendix 1 shows the standard hourly rate to be charged to external parties and the internal charge out rate where matters are internally rechargeable. Appendix 2 shows the costs of property transactions and the hourly rate for 106 planning obligations (all quoted figures on Appendix 1 and 2 are rounded up/down to the nearest pound).