Guidance to local authorities (LAs) on charging for waste services

Descriptions

There are five main objectives from this piece of work:1. To understand and inform LAs on the legalities around charging for waste services and generating income;2. Provide recommendations to LAs on setting suitable charges; by understanding full service costs and identifying a suitable methodology to set an appropriate charge, without having adverse effect on service users and without compromising service performance and ability to achieve targets.3. Ensure compliance with all relevant legislation but in particular the Well Being of Future Generations Act goals and principles in approaching this issue, and collating the necessary evidence to be able to demonstrate compliance.4. Guidance on how to implement an effective charging system – understanding resources available to assist LAs in the process of managing the service delivery.5. Analysis of potential benefits for partnership or regional working in introducing charges for waste services.A range of legislation is in place, enabling LAs to charge, including the Local Government Act 2003, however there are certain restrictions on the level of acceptable charging. LAs are required to have a clear rationale for how much they charge and what the is charge for. LAs must also consider whether charges can be used to generate a surplus to support general revenue budgets or whether they can only recover incurred costs in delivering the service. LAs require clear advice and guidance on what can and cannot be done.We envisage the guidance would include but not limited to the following:1. Guidance to LAs on understanding their full costs of delivering a service;2. Proposed methodology for LAs to analyse and understand the costs of delivering their service and setting a charge to cover the cost of delivering particular waste services, to incorporate within a robust business case;3. Clear parameters within which a suitable and justifiable charge for the service from the local authority can be set, whilst adhering with Wellbeing of Future Generations Act principles;4. Understand the ability of their communities to pay a charge for services;5. Good practice on how LAs can treat concessions to residents;6. The affect charging might have on achieving strategic objective and performance targets;7. The affect that increasing or introducing a charge might have on an LAs ability to meet its other responsibilities under the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act; and8. Is there potential for partnership or regional working to gain financial benefits by increasing opportunities to generate income and/or added value, and an appraisal of the options available to LAs.Local authorities also need guidance to develop business cases on the potential for generating income from service charges. This project must provide guidance to LAs enabling them to:1. Acquire adequate information to justify the proposed charges;2. How introducing charges will influence take up of service and anticipated impact on service users as well as service performance;3. How introducing charges will impact on an LAs budget planning cycles and dealing with potential risks if income is not realised and how to manage the risk; and4. What costs, capacity and resources are required to implement a charging regime identifying potential opportunities to dove tail with other local charging regimes.NOTE: To register your interest in this notice and obtain any additional information please visit the Sell2Wales Web Site at http://www.sell2wales.gov.wales/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=59110.