northlincs.gov.uk

1          (1) REVIEW OF POLICY & RESOURCES FEES & CHARGES – INCLUDING REVIEW OF LOCAL LAND CHARGES SERVICE PERFORMANCE – The Director of Policy and Resources submitted a report which sought approval to review and revise the charges made by services within the Policy & Resources portfolio for the 2015/16 financial year, and review the performance of the Local Land Charges Service.

During the financial year (up to 31 January 2015) 1,622 Official (in house” Searches (this figure also includes LLC1 searches)) had been received. The total for the whole of the financial year 2013/2014 was 1,996.

The increase in the number of searches undertaken in the year to date continued to demonstrate an increase when compared with the previous year and placed the  service under pressure to meet targets set by the council.

The charges made for a Standard Search Fee was £85 for postal and electronic searches, as opposed to personal searches which were free. This compared well with the charges raised by adjoining Authorities.

As in previous years a review had been undertaken of the charges made by Legal Services following the report received from the CIPFA Benchmarking Club.  The charges were set out in the Appendix 1 to the report.

Resolved – (a) That the local land charge fee and the legal fees set out in the tables in Appendix 1 to the report be approved and adopted as proposed, and (b) that the Policy & Resources fees and charges for 2015-16 set out in Appendix 2 be approved.