RESOLVED
(1) That pest control fees and charges be increased to the ‘mid-position’ as set out in the report, obtained through the benchmarking exercise of the fees and charges of other local authorities,
(2) That a new, non-refundable call out charge of £25 be introduced for pest control visits.
(3) That these changes be implemented from 1 April 2022.
(4) That the Joint Assistant Director – Environmental Health be authorised to carry out a review on the impact of the changes to fees and charges twelve months after their implementation.
REASONS FOR DECISION - To reduce the costs of the service to the Council by bringing its fees and charges more into line with those of other local authorities in the region. To help reduce the incidence of aborted visits through the introduction of a call-out charge.
OTHER OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED - The options of not increasing fees and charges, or increasing them by a greater amount than recommended, were considered and rejected for the reasons specified in the report.
Please note that this was not a Key Decision and so can be implemented with immediate effect by officers.