FOI request (FOI-93267242)

Statutory HBC service provision

Requested Fri 26 October 2018
Responded  Thu 06 December 2018

Dear All,

Please provide me with a list of statutory services Hastings Borough Council must, legally provide as a local authority.

1. Please then provide a list of the non-statutory services Hastings Borough Council provide.

2. The authority will need to find further savings in the coming financial years. Please provide details of the additional income generated so far by the 20% fee increase introduced on 17th January 2018 and how this has been spent on or in the planning service? It can ONLY be spent in the planning function, no where else see:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/1314/contents/made

3. Please provide the details of the number of full time posts in Development Management, Planning Enforcement and Planning Policy including the admin. support.

4. Please provide the number of all planning types, advert, lawful development certificates, prior approval, approval of matters reserved by condition and listed building applications received in 2017-2018 financial year and so far in 2018-2019.

5. How many posts in ecology, development management, conservation and heritage, planning policy, planning enforcement and their admin services have been removed or given to officers as additional functions since October 2008 (the beginning of austerity owing to the worldwide financial crash)?

6. Have the above posts been re-graded and staff had reduced remuneration? Please provide details.

Response

Q1 - Hastings Borough Council does not hold a list of statutory services, however we are looking to do this in the near future.

Q2 - The information on the additional income generated to date from the 20% fee increase in statutory charges has not been collated as the information retained relates to all planning income no just the income from the fees that were increased by 20%. However the council increased its fee income budget by £56,120 in relation to this fee increase so this is the amount of additional income we expect to receive between 17th January 2018 and 31st March 2019. The Planning Service runs at a net cost to the council. The actual cost of running the Planning Service in 2017/18 was £874,684 and the Budgeted cost for 2018/19 is £941,320. The income generated form these fee increases has helped reduce the overall cost of providing the service.

Q3 - Development Management 8.5, Planning Enforcement 3.0, Planning Policy 5.0, LLPG and Admin 8.0

Q4 - Please see attached document

Q5 -

Conservation - Conservation has been cut from 5 members of staff, one at Management level, to 0.85 staff members since October 2008.

The post of the Ecologist was deleted from the Organisation in 2011. Under new role as Environment and Natural Resources Manager, ecology advice is still available to the organisation.

Q6 - Information not held, this is not a request for recorded information.

Attachments

• FOI-93267242_FOI-93267242_numbe_of_planning_applications-response.xlsx