BLAENAU Gwent is following in the footsteps of Newport and Torfaen councils and is introducing a charge on immigration inspections.

At a meeting of the Executive yesterday (weds) Blaenau Gwent councillors approved introducing a £100 charge for an Immigration Inspection Report and £100 for any subsequent visits.

At the moment, a person wishing to bring in a family member to the UK will need to prove their proposed house or flat is suitable and of a certain standard before immigration is approved.

Properties are inspected to ensure that they are in a reasonable state of repair with adequate kitchen and bathroom facilities and the property is not overcrowded.

In Blaenau Gwent, Environmental Health Officers carry out around five of these visits a year.

A Blaenau Gwent spokeswoman said: “It is considered appropriate to begin making a charge for these inspections to bring this Council into line with most others in Wales and the UK.”

From today the council will charge for the service and residents paying for it will be given a certificate of suitability to give to the immigration authority.

A report presented to councillors stated: “The Authority currently imposes no charge for providing this service. It should be noted that the numbers of these inspections is very low, generally less than five per year.

“This service is not a statutory function so it is considered appropriate to levy a charge to cover the Council’s costs in providing this service.

“The proposed charge of £100 including VAT for each visit has been reached by comparing the charges imposed by other local authorities in England and Wales. This charge is at the lower end of the scale when a comparison is made”

The charge will cover four hours work for a qualified Environmental Health Officer and a small amount of administration support. The inspection will not be carried out until the fee has been paid.

The report added: “Given the very low numbers of these inspections undertaken this new fee cannot be seen as a significant new revenue stream to support or underpin any Council service. The point of making the charge is to bring this Council in line with the majority of others in Wales and the UK and the principle that this is a commercial service, also offered by the private sector, that Council Tax payers should not be funding.”

Caerphilly County Borough Council does not charge for this service. In Newport the charge for this service is currently £112 and payment is required before an inspection can take place. Torfaen charge between £118 and £171 for this service, which covers follow up visits. Monmouthshire council charge around £30 per inspection, but the fee varies depending on how long the inspection lasts.