I presume the deputy has in mind charges for the supply of special forecasts and climatological information. Such charges are based on the cost of providing the information sought, i.e. staff costs with a provision for overheads or as negotiated with the user.
It is the policy of the Meteorological Service not to apply these charges in the case of co-operating bodies, namely those who supply climatological information to the service by maintaining climatological or rainfall stations. Many of the local authorities and State agencies fall into this category. Moreover, much of the information supplied to local authorities has direct implications in terms of public safety (warnings of severe weather) and present policy is not to charge for the supply of such information.
State bodies who do not supply information to the service or who make special requests involving substantial staff effort are charged at appropriate rates.