Weights and Measures

Introduction

LACORS Guidance fee on verification costs is currently based on a fee for each type of equipment. This was originally established some 20 years ago. Practices within verification services have now changed dramatically and LACORS propose a radical review of fees to reflect the delivery of a modern service.

After much consideration it was felt appropriate to deem this to be an hourly cost based on the provision of a single weights and measures inspector, which would reflect salary levels, plus all the necessary on-cost for the delivery of such a service, (including on-costs training, management, administration, infrastructure, transport and equipment). If additional staffs are required these would be charged in addition.

It is LACORS view that this is a simple method which allows councils to be able to calculate, and if necessary prove, that fees levied cover costs of providing the service. By allocating via time it can allow for costs of travelling time or efficiencies by dealing with many items in a single site visit.

Clearly these fees are guidelines only, it is, and always has been, up to each council to decide and approve its own fees and charges in accordance with local polices based on full cost recovery for the service.

Methodology

Salary - This is based on the mean average of the salary of a Trading Standards Officer/, Senior Trading Standards Officer/ Principal Trading Standards Officer based on data from the TSI 2009 Workforce Survey.

Employer On costs - i.e. employers pension and NI costs, based on 24% which is figure supplied by LGE and reinforced by research undertaken during recent review of registration fees.

Other on-costs - This adds 43% to gross salary costs. This includes all infrastructure, management; administrative support services etc and again is based on data obtained from county and unitary authorities in England and Wales during the registration fees review. This is based on enhanced premises requirement to reflect that equipment and laboratories have to be provided in a different way than standard office accommodation.

Capital and Equipment Costs - It is very difficult to calculate an accurate figure as the range of equipment held by an authority may vary noticeably. The largest authorities have a broad range of equipment from weighbridge testing units and proving tanks as well as the equipment that all weights and measures authorities must have such as petrol measures and bags of inspectors working standard weights.

Those smaller authorities will have a much smaller range of equipment. Included in this is the calibration costs of the equipment, sometimes this is done "in-house" and sometimes it is contracted out to another local weights and measures authority.

Below is what we believe is a reasonable assumption for an "average" authority. Costs were hypothesised as follows and written off over a five year period.

Calculations

For impact assessment purposes we estimate that there are 210x7 hour working days (allowing for holiday, sickness, training & development etc).

Thus the hourly rate i £51.13 for a weight and measures inspector plus infrastructure to provide a weights and measures verification service. RBWM adjusted figure = £47.66.

If a particular piece of work requires the presence of support staff then this should be charged in addition. Using the same calculation the hourly cost for a technical officer would be £30.66. No additional fee to be charged by RBWM.

Similarly additional charges can be levied if a council is required for example to hire in specialist equipment.

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