North Yorkshire Council
Environment Directorate
27 February 2026
Pest Control Fees 2026/27
Report of the Assistant Director – Regulation and Harbours
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To seek approval of North Yorkshire Council’s Pest Control fees for financial year 2026/27.
2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 These fees relate to the Pest Control service which is a discretionary service delivered by the Council.
2.2 The fees were previously harmonised and determined following local government reorganisation.
2.3 The previous fee harmonisation included regularising concessions for domestic customers (which varied across predecessor Councils) setting a concession of 25% of the treatment fee subject to evidence of receipt of a government means-tested benefit. Customer (at point of payment) manages this. During 2024/25 it became apparent that due to ongoing transformation work, across a range of services, access to systems appertaining to benefit checks is not currently possible. Therefore, a concessionary rate cannot be delivered but will be revisited as the Council’s transformation programme progresses. It is worthy of note that the service operates in a competitive commercial market and all customers have a choice whether to engage the Council’s services or not, or whether to purchase pest control services from a range of other providers. There is no obligation upon the Council to provide a pest control service or provide concessionary rates.
2.4 The proposed fee increases would take effect from 01 April 2026 (Appendix A).
3.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
3.1 To deliver high quality and efficient local services to support safer, stronger, and healthier communities, protecting public health, safety, and the environment in North Yorkshire.
4.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
4.1 The proposed fees are in accord with the Council’s financial strategy and the service is required to adhere to the strategy.
5.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
5.1 Current and proposed fees are included at appendix A. The Council’s budget for 2026/27 includes a savings target of £50k in relation to Pest Control income and the proposed fees will contribute towards meeting that target.
5.2 This report enables the Council to set discretionary charges in accordance with the Council’s financial strategy. These fees fall within the strategy cost model - cost plus, to deliver the full costs of delivering the service plus a margin to contribute to reinvestment in the service.
5.3 As these fees are discretionary and the Council is operating in competition with commercial pest control companies benchmarking is undertaken to ensure that fees are competitive. This has led to a significant increase in the fees for moths, beetles, cockroaches and earwigs where the initial fee set last year was well below the market level and as such this particular treatment was not cost effective for the Council to operate. The other fees have been increased to produce a round figure that can be easily marketed with the exception of wasps nests which has been held at last years price due to this being the largest volume treatment provided by the Council and to remain in line with the market.
5.4 At the present time there is no method available for Customer Services to check the validity of a benefits concession at the point of call so this facility will be reconsidered when the new Customer CRM is operational.
6.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
6.1 The service operates in a competitive commercial market and all customers have a choice whether to engage the Council or not, or whether to purchase pest control services from a range of other providers. There is no obligation upon the Council to provide a pest control service.
7.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
7.1 There are no equalities implications arising from the fee proposals (Appendix B).
8.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
8.1 There are no climate change implications arising from the fee proposals (Appendix C).
9.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
9.1 To set pest control charges in accordance with the Council’s financial strategy.
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10.0 |
RECOMMENDATION
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10.1 |
That the Corporate Director of Environment, in consultation with the Executive Member for Manging Our Environment, approves North Yorkshire Council’s Pest Control Fees 2026/27 (Appendix A).
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – North Yorkshire Council’s Regulatory Services Discretionary Fees 2026/27
Appendix B – Equalities Impact Screening
Appendix C – Climate Impact Assessment
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: None.
Callum McKeon
Assistant Director – Regulation and Harbours
County Hall
Northallerton
27 February 2026
Report Author: Dean Richardson Head of Regulatory Services
Presenter of Report: Dean Richardson Head of Regulatory Services