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LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE (LGFRC)

MINUTES OF FOURTH MEETING: 19 NOVEMBER 2004, 5th FLOOR, 5 MORRISON STREET, EDINBURGH

Present:

Committee
Sir Peter Burt, Chair
Peter Daniels OBE, Member
Janet Lowe CBE, Member
Professor John Baillie, Member

In Attendance:
Kenneth McKay CBE, Specialist Adviser to the Committee
David Milne, Secretary to the Committee
Nikola Plunkett, Scottish Executive
Billy McKenzie, Scottish Executive

1. Minutes and matters arising
1.1 Ken McKay, the recently appointed Special Adviser, was welcomed to the Committee.
1.2 The draft minutes of the meeting on 25 October were agreed.
1.3 The Secretariat was awaiting feedback from Sir Michael Lyons' office about possible dates for a meeting.
1.4 Ministers have asked to meet the Chairman in December. There was a discussion about whether another Committee member should support the Chairman at this meeting. It was agreed that the Chairman should select a date that suited him. He could then check other Committee members for their availability.
1.5 Ministers have also asked to meet the full Committee in January. It was agreed that 17 (a.m. only) and 20 January might be suitable dates for Committee members.
1.6 Secretariat reported that no list of the charges local authorities can apply exists as this depends on how each local authority interprets the powers they have, particularly those in the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 via the power to advance well being. Where charging powers under the Act for an activity are less clear, a local authority might set up an arms-length company, which does have such powers.
1.7 The Committee considered how they might obtain such information. It was agreed that the Secretariat should write to local authorities to request information about services for which they impose fees or charges.

2. Draft Consultation Paper
2.1 The Committee felt that Peter Daniels had produced an excellent re-draft of the consultation paper. A discussion then took place on the detail of the paper. Main conclusions from this were the Committee agreed that:

• The level of detail in the consultation paper was appropriate in order to elicit written evidence from consultees, which is less likely to be subject to misinterpretation than oral evidence;
• The questions in the paper covered the range of issues the Committee had to investigate;
• Consultees should explicitly be asked to give reasons for their views;
• The proposed 'Income' table should be revised to highlight the split between local and national taxes. Clarification should be sought as to whether non-domestic rates can be considered a local tax.
• A brief section raising the question of the economic impact of the various models should be added;
• The paper should refer to types of poll tax as a possible option, but with a relatively low profile; and
• The question of distribution mechanisms was probably too large and complex for the Committee to address properly as part of this review, unless Ministers took the view that they should. However, the Committee might give thought as to how distribution mechanisms might be kept under review, in process terms.

• It should refer to an intention to finalise the Report in Summer 2006;
• Evidence gathering should be shown as taking place in July - September 2005;
• Report writing should be shown as taking place in February - May 2006; and
• It should be made explicit that this is an indicative timetable that is subject to change.

• Secretariat to write to local authorities to request information about services for which they apply fees or charges.
• Peter Daniels and Ken McKay to finalise the draft consultation paper.
• Secretariat to arrange implementation of the Committee's website, to include an approved version of the Committee's indicative timetable.
• Secretariat to pursue arrangements for forthcoming meetings with Ministers.

Local Government Finance Review Committee
Secretariat
November 2004