Council Places Fairness at the Heart of Decision Making

South Tyneside Council is working to target support at the residents and parts of the Borough that need it the most in a bid to reduce inequalities and make things fairer.

Every year the Council reviews its fees and charges to ensure that services are accessible whilst recovering some of the rising costs incurred.

Keeping fees among some of the lowest in the region has, over time, created additional financial pressures for the Council amidst the rising cost of fuel, food, energy, and staffing. However, the Council has worked to retain subsidies in as many areas as possible for the residents that need it the most.

Councillor Jane Carter, Lead Member for Governance, Finance and Corporate Services at South Tyneside Council said: "Reviewing fees and charges is an annual exercise which all councils do. What sets South Tyneside apart is our razor focus to ensure that our charging policy continues to support those who need it most.

"We always take a balanced approach to setting our fees and charges and will continue to subsidise where we can. However, this must be balanced against meeting the increasing demand and associated costs across adults and children's social care supporting some of the most vulnerable in our society which absorbs an increasing proportion of all councils' budgets.

"We know that some of our residents face financial difficulties. That is why we are determined to keep costs as low as possible and will continue to subsidise many services rather than go to full cost recovery.

"For example, with school meals and milk we will continue to support all families with the cost of living, by heavily subsidising these services due to huge increase in costs of food, energy, and staffing to deliver them. 45% of children will still be supported with free school meals and milk, for everyone else the council will cover a quarter of the cost of milk and more than a third of the cost of school meals.

"New fees and charges are not proposed to generate any additional income, but to recover the rising cost to the Council of providing the services. We need to make sure that our services are sustainable in the longer term so that we can continue to provide the things that people rely on the most."

Whilst most fees and charges will rise by 6% there are some areas where subsidy, whilst remaining, will reduce.

School meal prices have been frozen since 2018, supporting families through the Cost-of-Living crisis, and are well below that of any other neighbouring authority. The Council currently subsidises school meals by almost 50%, this subsidy will reduce by 30p with the new price of school meals at £2.50 per pupil per meal, at least 50p cheaper than other areas in the North East. For every school meal the council will contribute £1.50.

Children who receive free school meals will not be affected by this change. In addition, the Council is looking at ways to maximise the take-up of free school meals through approaches such as auto-enrolment.

The Council will continue to subside school milk. The Council will cover a quarter of the cost of school milk for families taking the price to £12 per pupil per term for those who pay, cheaper than the national school milk provider which all other Tyne and Wear authorities use. The Council will pay £4 a term towards school milk for each child.

Pupils eligible for free school meals will still receive school milk free of charge and will not be affected by this change.

Changes to school meals and milk pricing is expected to be implemented from the Summer Term in April 2025.

The provision of leisure services has been one of the Council's key investment areas across the last 10 - 15 years. South Tyneside is now an outlier in terms of local authority provision in leisure centres and as a result has supported thousands to access affordable fitness programmes.

Whilst most individual/ sessional charges will increase by the standard 6%, leisure memberships will rise by 10% to bring them in line with neighbouring authorities and competitive to the private sector.

The Council continues to provide discounted access to its leisure facilities through its Get Active discount card which supports the following groups:  

• senior citizens
• full-time students
• registered disabled
• registered carer's (must be in receipt of a Carer's Allowance and care for someone for at least 35 hours a week)
• those on a government approved training scheme, or
• those in receipt of Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance (proof required)
• those in receipt of a War Pension

The Council's leisure offer has benefitted from significant capital investment in the leisure buildings and equipment has also recently been replaced across all facilities.

Due to the requirements in updating promotional materials, notifying members, and instructing the direct debit provider to update mandates, it is anticipated that leisure membership increases will be implemented in the New Year.

In 2022 the charge for Bulky Waste was temporarily halved as part of a pilot to measure the impact on fly tipping. The reduction in price made little to no difference in fly tipping instances so the £26.50 charge for eight items will be reinstated.

The cost of Green Waste collections, like other charges, will increase by 6%. The charge for the 2025 / 26 season will be £37.50.

Revised fees and charges, unless otherwise stated will be implemented from 1 November 2024.