Fee legislation

I continue to hear many varieties of rumour.

I don't think anyone really knows at this stage, and my sense is that it's not a certainty either way yet..

In discussion with someone from PAS it was intimated that it is highly unlikely that fees will be included for listed building applications. This is of great concern. Like many other authorities, the budget for conservation issues is being shaved, and in some cases cut. 5 years ago i had 3.5 fte conservation staff, now it is 1.5. There is an old addage, you get what you pay for. If you pay nothing, guess what you get.

If we are serious about our listed buildings, then they need to be resoursed, and preferably from those who gain the benefit from the permission and the valuable advice. Please lobby your MP to consider this issue.

Couldn't agree more Philip.

Nothing in the Autumn Statement.... yes I am sad

I think there needs to be some communication from CLG about this issue. What's happening? What's not happening? Authorities are being left in the dark here....!!

Could we ask (nicely) the PAS coordinators to nudge Steve Quartermain to see if he can give any indication. My accountants are making all sorts of estimates, none of which includes a standstill budget.

I have just been copied in on this email, from DCLG to a neighbouring authority... not sure it helps... but...

"I am aware that the issue of setting planning application fees is important for your authority and we are seeking to progress this as quickly as we can.



Following the consultation on proposals for decentralising fee setting for planning applications to local planning authorities we received support from local authorities but received a range of other responses from the development industry and others on the likely effects of a fee increase on development proposals.



This presents a complex set of issues and we are considering those responses to inform looking at options for how we take this forward. We are also working closely with the Local Government Group to develop better information on local authority costs which is assisting with this analysis.



We hope to be able to make an announcement in the near future and recognise the desire of local government colleagues to reach a conclusion on the issue.





Sir Bob Kerslake
Permanent Secretary
Department for Communities & Local Government"

I wonder if the "Implementation of the Penfold Report" paper by BIS is having an impact, especially on listed building and conservation area consents?

http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/better-regulation/docs/i/11-1413-implementation-of-penfold-review.pdf

The end of January is drawing near and we are planning our budget for 12/13 on three scenarios: local fee-setting; a national increase; and the status quo. These 3 scenarios have 3 very different impacts. CLG / PAS need to please update local authorities now as a matter of urgency. Does anyone out there have any reliable info that they are basing their business planning on?

I totally agree with Gary. The situation is untenable. I am finding it increasingly difficult to continue work on the benchmarking when there is no legislation in sight. If government is serious about zero CTax this year, they need to allow planning authorities to reduce their subsidy of this costly service.

Indecision is no decision.

Please help us to do our job.

Phill

I'd love to help, I really would. As always, the rumour factory says "decision real soon now".

All I can suggest is that in the short term you follow Gary's lead and prepare for at least two scenarios:
- status quo (this is also easy to adjust in the event of a simple %age change to current national fees)
- local fees

But, I'm starting to find it impossible that local fees is going to happen for April.

I appreciate all your help Richard. Its just getting fractious in the sticks as budget setting comes forward. It will be so much harder to handle with acruals if we do this mid year.

I will also have to let staff go on March 31 if we have no direction. When it comes down to it, its peoples lives, not just accountancy. I hope Whitehall reads some of this.

Phill

We have asked our PM to raise a question regarding the timing of local fee setting regulations in the House. Could other Authorities do the same, please.

Our local MP Ivan Lewis, did this in November and is still awaiting a reply!

I had a meeting with a software supplier who have been told by their government liaison to ease off any work on changing their systems to align with the fees changes. The reasons they were given appear to be that the Treasury has had cold feet over the scheme and feel introducing revised charges at this time would have a deteremental affect on the construction industry. (who cares about the planning system and localism?)

Their managers have shelved development work and may return to in in Q3 or Q4 of 2012.

Because of other pressing issues, i have stopped all work on benchmarking, but will continue when we have more news. Staff continue to collect low level data. We have set our Council Budget based on current fee levels.

Please take all of the above with caution as these are merely third hand speculations, but it appears to match reality. The Health Service appears to be the battle field for today.

Phill

This speculation is maybe not unexpected, but how hard can it be for someone at CLG to say something like “the proposals for councils to set their own planning fees on a cost recovery basis are still under consideration, although at the moment we can’t give a timetable for when the decision will be made and what that decision will be. If the decision is taken to either change the fee regime to local fee setting or to have an across the board increase, the processes involved mean that from the point of making a decision it will take around …..months before the changes can be implemented.”

Although, this doesn’t give the certainty everyone is looking for, is it better than nothing ?

Also, and whilst I can understand Philip’s position about stopping benchmarking until the fee situation is sorted out, our view is that there is value in carrying on, and we will still be going for the final final submission of data shortly.

Our local MP has asked a formal written question on this subject on the 20th November 2011 and he should have had a reply within 2 weeks.

He has subsequently sent 2 reminders and other than acknowledgements, had nothing.

What am I doing?.........I have stopped holding my breath, completed the Benchmarking/Fees exercise, used it to reduce payments to highways team, started paying of Environmental Health team and reduced all central charges where I can and started a discussion with the Director about setting reasonable fees targets for 2012/13 based on reality and the information from the Benchmarking.

We'll be putting a note round to club members in the next few days. But in advance of that, just one plea from me.

Please *do* complete the benchmark. It would be a real shame to have invested the effort without the final report to use (and share with your staff) at the end of it.

Please can you let us know whether PAS have any plans to repeat the benchmarking exercise this summer? Regardless of whether we get new legislation for fees, we found it a very useful exercise for lots of other purposes. We would be very keen to participate in another event this year.

Not sure if this is relevant or not, but someone has pointed out to me that the current DEFRA consultation on the implementation of SUDs makes references to ‘cost recovery fees’ (for the new Suds approval regime) with nationally set fees from Oct 2012 and then freedom to SABs (SUDs Approving Bodies) to set their own fees from Sept 2015. Is this a sign ?

The fees are dead long live the fees!
Greg Clark has finally admitted that the local setting of fees is dead..... for the time being..... at a seminar yeasterday as reported by Building Magazine http://www.building.co.uk/news/sectors/housing/minister-confirms-planning-fees-rethink/5035181.article

Interesting stuff. It needs careful scrutiny. I can't tell whether or not there is a kernel of good news at the centre of this.

What is clear to me is that we (collectively) need to do a better job setting out how it's going to feel for the customers of our services. This includes the stuff we don't like to think about, like what do we do when a small number of councils behave badly ?

This is some of the stuff we (in the steering group) will be factoring into the benchmark 2012, because this is the only method by which we (planning authorities) can represent ourselves properly.

More on this:

http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2012/april/government-to-rethink-planning-fees-again/

I hope it doesn't appear disloyal to take today's announcement with a small pinch of salt.

"I hope that that will be in the next few weeks and, given that we’ve got the recess coming up shortly, I hope that gives you the timeframe which we are hopefully able to stick to."

Note how the word "hope" is used three times in one sentence. I can relate to that.

What was it that DCLG said about annoncement before last summer's recess? Sound familiar?

Yipee a promise of a small increase in fees in the Autumn

Letter published from Steve Quartermain yesterday saying fees are to go up across all categories by 15% in the Autumn.

Press release on Communities web site below:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/planningandbuilding/2172391

Local fees dead?

Download Chief Planner.doc (size 98Kb)

To be honest this is disappointing news.

So many useful things flowed from having local accountability over fees and service - this was never just about getting more cash in the door.

Anyway. I have some ideas. What is clear from the attitude of the benchmark steering group is that we're not going to just give up ...

As an aside, my reading of the ministerial statement was that regulations are in autumn, so this could mean October start but may be April 2013 (common commencement).

The latest is government is proposing a one-off adjustment to up-rate fees in line with inflation, amounting to around 15% rise, so no local fee setting after all. They intend to introduce these new fee regs in Autumn...

Given that they foresaw this 8 months ago I'm wondering whether Katherine's mysterious oracle-like 'sources' are predicting anything else of interest in the planning field.

Actually, forget that - what's their considered view on what Saturday's lotto numbers will be? Of course, I would have used my winnings to subsidise the cost of delivering my Council’s under-funded statutory planning function, but fortunately an extra 15% on fees will solve all our problems and enable us to deliver the government’s growth agenda… won’t it?

Before we can spend it on the growth agenda ???? we will have to absorb the "extra" applications submitted in advance of the fee increase