I had an FEO here today and a comment he made was that the Gloucestershire Constabulary are losing £150,000 per year because of the current fees structure. His words were 'the public is subsidising licences' and that to break even they would need to charge £35 more for each licence.
My reply was that the system should become more efficient before any more increases were considered. When I suggested that volunteers could do some of the administration work he was full of reasons for not doing that.
The FEO's are not highly paid but when you consider that most are ex-police officers, retire at 50 and have a good pension they are not doing too badly.
I understand that some forces do not carry out home visits but rely on phone calls, this seems a sensible approach and could save time and money.
My reply was that the system should become more efficient before any more increases were considered. When I suggested that volunteers could do some of the administration work he was full of reasons for not doing that.
The FEO's are not highly paid but when you consider that most are ex-police officers, retire at 50 and have a good pension they are not doing too badly.
I understand that some forces do not carry out home visits but rely on phone calls, this seems a sensible approach and could save time and money.