Content

Salford City Council - Record of
Decision
 
I,
Councillor Tracy Kelly, Statutory Deputy City Mayor and Lead
Member for Housing, Property and Regeneration, in exercise of the
powers contained within the City Council Constitution, do hereby approve:
 
Adjustments to
Duchy Caravan Park service charges in line with the costs of
providing those services as detailed in section 3 of the report
‘Duchy Caravan Park Service Charges for
2023/24.’
 
The
Reasons are:
Several of the services that are provided at the Duchy site are
appropriate to be billed as service charges, to fully recover the
cost of delivering these services to residents.
 
Options considered and rejected were:
Do
nothing – The council is required legally to review the
operating costs of the site for 2022/23 and adjust service charges
accordingly in the following financial year.  This review has indicated that some costs are as
forecast, but others have cost more or
less.  Indicative costs have also
been proposed for 2023/24.
 
Assessment of Risk:
Medium – Without the ability to bring in an increase in
additional income to cover the cost of services being received, the
future sustainability of the site is at risk, as it continues to
operate at a significant loss to the Council.
 
The source of funding
is: Revenue
Funding
 
Legal Advice obtained: Supplied by Tony
Hatton
Service charges are charges payable by the resident/leaseholder
to the landlord for the services the landlord is obliged to provide
under the terms of the agreement between them, usually a formal
lease. They will usually be an amount varying from year to year
depending on the costs the landlord incurs and are usually split
between residents according to the respective terms of the
agreements.
 
The
agreements with the residents on the site should set out the way
the service charge is calculated/organised and what can be charged.
Residents paying the charges have the right to ask for a summary
showing how the charge is worked out and what it’s spent on
and see any paperwork supporting the summary, such as receipts. The
council is under a statutory duty to provide this information,
otherwise it is a criminal offence.
 
Service charges (including payments on account) must be
reasonably incurred, and reasonable by their nature otherwise they
will not be recoverable to the extent that they are unreasonable or
(if paid in advance) must be refunded.
 
Financial Advice obtained: Supplied by
Janet Cross, Finance Manager
There
remain pressures on this account, which was overspent in 2022/23
due to a number of reasons, including
one off costs.
 
The adjustment of service charges as recommended in
this report to ensure actual charges are passed on appropriately
should help relieve some of the pressures.
 
Procurement
Advice obtained: N/A
 
HR Advice obtained: N/A
 
Climate Change Advice obtained: N/A
 
The
following documents have been used to assist the decision
process:
Lead
Member Report
 
Contact Officer:
Gemma Syers                               
Telephone number: 0161 793 2372
 
 
 
This decision is not subject to
consideration by another Lead Member.
 
The appropriate scrutiny panel to
call-in the decision is the Growth & Prosperity Scrutiny
Panel.
 

 
Signed: Councillor Tracy Kelly                                  
Dated: 18th July 2023
Lead
Member for Housing
 

 
This decision was published on 18th July
2023.
 
This decision will come into force at
4.00 p.m. on 25th July 2023, unless it is called-in in accordance with
decision-making process rules.