Snooper teams, huge f ines and jail threat: How new parking tax may be enforced
WORKERS in Scotland’s biggest cities are set to be spied on by snoopers if they park at the office.
Councils will this week be handed powers to impose a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL), which has been dubbed a ‘poll tax on wheels’.
Although Ministers admit they have not yet worked out details of the scheme, they are following the example of Nottingham, the first UK city to introduce the system.
The scheme is overseen by a team of enforcement officers. Equipped with number plate recognition cameras and authorised to carry out spot checks, they have legal powers to impose fines, backed with the threat of prison.
The WPL is being introduced in Scotland despite warnings from business leaders it will damage Scotland’s fragile economy, and Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth admitting that the Scottish Government has not modelled its likely impact.
Glasgow and Edinburgh councils are both committed to implementundertaking ing the scheme. The SNP wants to cut the number of cars on the road by 20 per cent by 2030 – and those councils have set even more ambitious targets of 30 per cent.
Transport Scotland has made clear that anyone who does not adhere to the new tax will face financial penalties.
In Nottingham, WPL officers have surveillance cameras and legal powers to investigate company premises backed by the Transport Act 2000. According to a council handbook, if a WPL officer is obstructed in an investigation or given false information, criminal proceedings can begin.
The brochure, entitled Workplace Parking Levy Handbook, explains how, if convicted, a company boss or worker could be hit with a custodial sentence or an unlimited fine.
The brochure also warns business owners: ‘Authorised Workplace Parking Levy Officers (WPLO) will make unannounced visits; these will be used to identify employers who are non-compliant. When a compliance survey the WPLO will use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) equipment. This will enable the officers to gather Vehicle Registration Marks of all vehicles on the premises at the time of the visit.’
It adds: ‘Checks will be carried out at premises routinely, or where we believe breaches of the WPL scheme may be taking place.’
Nottingham has uniformed officers in white Toyota cars with a green stripe along the doors of the vehicle reading ‘WPL’.
Experts believe Scotland’s WPL schemes will also rely on enforcement officers.
Neil Greig, policy director at IAM Roadsmart, said: ‘ANPR cameras can check every car going down a street. This is much more nuanced. You need employers saying this is one of our employees or not, and this would have to be monitored.’
Graham Simpson, Scots Tory transport spokesman, said: ‘Nottingham is a prime example of why this is a bad idea. The council has seen income from the scheme drop as firms give up spaces, so they are charging more. Business leaders say it’s a money-raising scheme rather than about public transport.
‘More than half of affected employers have passed on the exorbitant cost to their staff.’ There are fears businesses or workers could pay up to £1,000 for a single parking space.
In its final business and regulatory impact assessment document, Transport Scotland said: ‘Local authorities will be responsible for the enforcement of licences within their local WPL schemes.
‘Failure to apply for a licence or license the correct number of
‘A prime example of why this is a bad idea’ ‘Employers passed on exorbitant cost to staff’
spaces would result in the occupier of liable premises being issued with a penalty charge.’
Both Glasgow and Edinburgh councils said it was too early to say how their schemes will operate.
Transport Scotland said it hopes to give councils WPL guidance in the first half of this year. A spokesman said: ‘Workplace parking licensing schemes have the potential to encourage the use of more sustainable travel, while raising revenue that will be used to improve public and sustainable transport.’
A Nottingham City Council spokesman said WPL operated on a ‘compliance not enforcement’ basis, adding: ‘In almost a decade of operating, there hasn’t been a single incident of employers not engaging with the WPL team.’