b'Generally, if consumers perceive value, they are often content to pay and, commonly, public sector fees are below those of the private sector, eg leisure facilities. In times of recession, this gives councils the opportunity to boost volumes with well-designed marketing. It is not surprising that introducing, say, car parking charges where previously there was none, there would be resistance from users, whereas introducing an increase in charges might be less emotivealthough not complaint free. Where usage of services is more intermittent, charges might be capable of being increased with less dispute, but other issues can be raised, for example, increasing burial or cremation charges can be described as taxing the dead. Recent adverse headlines on this theme include the following: Councils are ramping up the amount they charge for funerals and cremations by as much as 50 per cent in a shameless raid on grieving families. Experts say there has never been a more expensive time to die. The cost of burials has increased by as much as half over the past year to around 2,000 as local authorities try to offset the impact of swingeing budget cuts. Basic charges at council-run crematoriums have also soared by as much as 30 per cent in that time. But the revelation that local authorities are driving up their charges so aggressively has infuriated MPs, who have accused them of imposing a hidden tax on the bereaved.This illustrates, perhaps, some of the difficulties local authorities are grappling with as they seek to balance the books by generating increased revenue from front-line and (often) sensitive services.Generally, with income generation, it helps to engage the public and seek responses before implementing new charges or increasing existing ones. Rushcliffe District Council, described in the LGAs 2012 publication, Enterprising Councils, recognised that it was a challenge to introduce a charge for a previously free service (green waste collection) and so they conducted their largest ever customer contact exercise and received over 17,500 calls in just over four months. They secured a major take-up of the scheme40% of the residents who agreed to take up the green waste collection service agreed to pay online. Compared with a targeted customer base of 15,000, they had achieved a customer base of 26,000 when the information used for the 2012 publication was collected.As outlined in Chapter 2, it should also be remembered that (following application by way of judicial review) the courts can intervene to prevent an authority from acting illegally, irrationally or with procedural impropriety.Summary 3.6 Despite the issues, charging for discretionary services has gained popularity with local authorities over the intervening years since the powers were introduced. Commercial trading under section 95 of the 2003 Act, on the other hand, has been a slower burner despite recent relaxation of some of the original restrictions on the use of these trading powers and the next chapter explores the opportunities and boundaries of section 95 (commercial trading) powers. There are signs that trading through companies is now beginning to find wider appeal, as the following chapter will outline.49'