Ministers consult on new parking offence scheme

Guidance on penalties relating to new prohibitions on parking has been put out to consultation by the Scottish Government.

It comes ahead of the introduction of provisions in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 that will ban pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs.

These changes will impose new duties on local authorities to enforce these new provisions. With 21 of Scotland's 32 local authorities having introduced decriminalised parking enforcement regimes, with their own parking penalty charge schemes, ministers are seeking to ensure that penalty charges for parking in breach of the prohibitions are set at an appropriate level.

The consultation sets out, a proposed classification of all parking offences into "higher" or "lower" contravention codes, in line with a list currently in use by English and Welsh councils – an approach which the paper says would allow quicker and easier amendment through guidance.

Click here to access the consultation. The closing date is 4 October 2021.