Fees and charges

The request was successful.

Dear Watford Borough Council,

Please provide a list of all fees and charges for the financial year 2013-2014. I'd be happy to be given link to an online document. I searched for such a document but failed to find it.

Yours faithfully,

David Johnson

CSC Enquiries, Watford Borough Council

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Watford Borough Council
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Hertfordshire, WD17 3EX
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Email : [10][Watford Borough Council request email]
Website : [11]www.watford.gov.uk

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Bryan Collett,

1 Attachment

<<Fees & Charges 2013-14 - FOI request.pdf>>
Dear Mr Johnson

Thank you for your recent enquiry to Watford Borough, which has
been passed to me. (Watford and Three Rivers Councils operate a Shared
Finance Service).

Watford Borough Council has recently agreed the fees and charges for
2013/14, that were proposed by officers as part of the annual budget
setting process. They have not yet been published on the website, but I
have attached for you a file containing the details. The column showing
the heading 'Proposed 2013/14 Charge' contains the new charges that were
agreed.

 
If you are not satisfied with my response to your request, you may ask for
the request to be reconsidered. You can do this either by letter or by
emailing [Watford Borough Council request email]. The request will be considered by a
different officer. If you still remain dissatisfied with our response
after this, you may write to the Information Commissioner.

 
Yours sincerely
 
Bryan Collett
Finance Manager
Three Rivers and Watford Shared Finance Service
Three Rivers House
Northway
Rickmansworth
Herts
WD3 1RL
[email address]
01923 727043 Direct Line
01923 727310 Fax  
Internal Extension 7043

Dear Watford Borough Council,
    
     Please provide a list of all fees and charges for the financial
     year 2013-2014. I'd be happy to be given link to an online
     document. I searched for such a document but failed to find it.
    
     Yours faithfully,
    
     David Johnson

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Dear Bryan Collett,

Many thanks for the document. It's exactly what I wanted. It says:

*******************************
Allotments
Per pole per annum £4.40
*******************************

As I understand it, the law requires primary prices to be metric. A non-metric equivalent can be given but only if secondary to a primary metric price. Where supermarkets use non-metric units, that's how they're shown. A price expressed in obscure units like 'pole' would therefore be illegal. I appreciate this may have been overlooked over the years.

Would the council consider using primary metric prices in time for financial year 2014/15?

Yours sincerely,
David Johnson

Bryan Collett,

1 Attachment

<<Fees & Charges 2013-14 - FOI request.pdf>>
Dear Mr Johnson

Thank you for your email and comment about metric pricing.

The file I sent you is an internal document produced within the Finance
Service, but it is worth noting that the Watford Borough Council website
does show the conversion from pole to square metres on page
[1]http://www.watford.gov.uk/ccm/navigation...
:

How much does a council-managed allotment cost, and how big are they?
The basic cost for an allotment is £4.40 per pole (a pole is approximately
25 square metres) per year. The average size of a plot is 5 poles, but we
do our best to suit everyone's needs, with smaller plots available on most
sites.

I have forwarded your email to colleagues who are responsible for
Allotments, to make them aware of your comment about metric pricing.

Yours sincerely

Bryan Collett
Finance Manager
Three Rivers and Watford Shared Finance Service
Three Rivers House
Northway
Rickmansworth
Herts
WD3 1RL
[email address]
01923 727043 Direct Line
01923 727310 Fax  
Internal Extension 7043
Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email? 

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Dear Bryan Collett,

Thank you for your response saying you've forwarded the email to colleagues. As I understand it, the following formats are legal:
"18 p per square metre"
"18 p per square metre (4.50 per pole)"
"18 p per square metre (a pole is 25 square metres)"

The following are illegal:
"£4.50 per pole"
"£4.50 per pole (18 p per square metre)"
"£4.50 per pole (a pole is 25 square metres)"

The official primary price must be metric. Non-metric equivalents may be given but must be secondary to an official primary metric price. When supermarkets use non-metric units, that's how the law is enforced on them by councils. It's a relatively small matter that I'm sure the council has overlooked until now. Fortunately it's simple to fix. It should be possible to implement compliant prices for 2013/14 or 2014/15.

1. If a decision has already been made, please provide a document or other text where the council commits to using metric official primary prices of allotments.

2. If a decision has not yet been made, please provide the date and committee name for where it will be.

If you'd prefer me to raise a separate request, I'd be happy to do so.

Yours sincerely,

David Johnson

Bryan Collett,

Dear Mr Johnson

Thank you for your email, containing your comments about the legal requirements for using non-metric measures.
As a Finance Manager, my responsibilities are for accountancy and budgets. I have forwarded your email to my colleagues at Watford Borough Council who are responsible for managing allotments.

Yours sincerely

Bryan Collett
Finance Manager
Three Rivers and Watford Shared Finance Service
[email address]
01923 727043 Direct Line
01923 727310 Fax
Internal Extension 7043
Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?

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Audrey Clarke, Watford Borough Council

Good afternoon Mr Johnson.
 
Thank you for your enquiry regarding the allotments and the way the
council advertises the plot sizes.
 
Our Legal department has confirmed that we should be showing the
measurement of our plots primarily in poles, and then in metric.
 
As a result of your enquiry, we have made changes to our website and to
all the paperwork we send out to our allotment tenants to show the plot
size in square metres, with the approximate equivalent in poles as a
secondary measurement.  We are also in the process of updating the
allotment bills, which are sent out in October, to reflect the correct
information.
 
Thank you very much for your interest and assistance in this matter.
 
 
 
Audrey Clarke
Service Support Officer
Community Services
Watford Borough Council
Town Hall
Watford WD17 3EX
 
Tel: 01923 278614
Fax: 01923 278335
[1]www.watford.gov.uk
 

DISCLAIMER:

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.watford.gov.uk/

Dear Audrey Clarke,

Thank you for your response that says:
"Our Legal department has confirmed that we should be showing the measurement of our plots primarily in poles, and then in metric."

Do you mean "...primarily in metric then in poles."?

Yours sincerely,

David Johnson

Audrey Clarke, Watford Borough Council

Yes, Mr Johnson, I did. Please accept my apologies for missing that. We made a small change to the original draft response, which clearly changed the entire sense of the sentence.

Thank you for pointing that out.

Regards,

Audrey Clarke
Service Support Officer
Community Services
Watford Borough Council
Town Hall
Watford WD17 3EX

Tel: 01923 278614
Fax: 01923 278335
www.watford.gov.uk

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Dear Audrey Clarke,

Thanks for the clarification. That confirms it to be a satisfactory outcome. I appreciate the effort of yourself, the legal department, and all involved behind the scenes. This FOI request can now be closed as successful.

Yours sincerely,

David Johnson