Freedom of Information
Request received on 19/03/10:
Please provide information on:
1) How many local authorities who have entered into a Primary Authority Agreement are charging the partnership business for services provided?
2) How many local authorities who have entered into a Primary Authority Agreement are not charging the partnership business for services provided?
Response provided on 01/04/10:
The Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 provides that a primary authority may charge a business such fees as it considers to represent the costs reasonably incurred by it in fulfilling its role to the business (section 31). Parliament has left the decision around the extent to which costs are recovered, and whether they are recovered, to individual local authorities. In practice local authorities need to consider the amount of resource that will be needed to fulfil the role of primary authority for a particular business. The resources required vary depending on the size and nature of the business, and as a result local authorities may tailor their approach to cost recovery to each individual partnership. At the outset, primary authorities set out their intentions around cost recovery as part of their agreement with the business. LBRO does not receive or hold any information in respect of actual costs recovered.
At 31 March 2010 LBRO held the following information:
In 28 Primary Authority partnerships (41%), there are provisions for the costs of providing the services to be recovered.
In 32 Primary Authority partnerships (47%), there are provisions for some of the costs of providing the services to be recovered.
In 8 Primary Authority partnerships (12%), there are no provisions for costs of providing the services to be recovered.