b'the general competence powers require a different set of questions to be answered in order to determine whether, and if so how, a local authority may lawfully seek to generate income from its activities through charging or for commercial purposes. The flow chart questionnaire and the charging and trading charts below should assist local authorities to ask the right questions when embarking upon a potential income-generating activity in future. Before outlining the somewhat complex legislative environment, which governs local authority charging and trading, this chapter sets out a suggested approach and methodology for local authorities to consider when exploring ways of generating additional income from their activities. The following approach has been used by councils and has led to innovative and successful charges being implemented. It is not suggested that this is the only methodology that could be employed. Any local authority contemplating this methodology may need to adapt the approach to one more closely related to their needs and available resources. It is essential to invest time and effort upfront. Steps 15 Step 1Establishment of a core team and service teams 1.2 This approach depends on involving the officers responsible for the services being explored for income generating potential to examine each service area in detail, working with a facilitator and the councils finance officer to explore the current situation and the opportunities. The initial step following an agreement to undertake the review is to appoint a core team and service teams. The core team will have overall responsibility, including reporting to elected members, and the service teams will take responsibility for the areas that the review is designed to cover. It is vital to have a member of the finance department on the core team and a lawyer with good commercial skills, if available. The officers should be provided with basic training on income and charging and have sufficient information available to them to undertake their tasks. Further analysis may be undertaken to collate income streams by type of customer across all services, eg all services provided or potentially available to, say, schools, academies, GP consortia and other public bodies. It is a pre-requisite of this approach that the officers leading a service review should: have a thorough understanding of their areas of responsibility; have a good understanding of the legal boundaries for their areas; understand the needs of their area; and understand the views of the councillors. The support team consists of a facilitator, a legal adviser and a finance adviser. More specialist advisers may need to be involved depending on the ideas that are developed. The service team need to have access to a facilitator who will not have day-to-day responsibility for running the service. That person will have the responsibility for being a critical friend and will 12'