An attempt by the Scottish Conservatives to scrap the workplace parking levy has failed.
The controversial measure, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament as part of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, will give councils the power to charge workplaces that offer parking, with the possibility the charge could be passed on to workers.
Business groups, including the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and the Scottish Retail Consortium, have voiced their opposition to the scheme.
Tory transport spokesman Graeme Simpson tabled a motion before the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee today to annul regulations that would bring the policy into force – but the attempt was thwarted by four votes to three.
Simpson told the committee now is not the time to implement the charge, with companies still recovering from the pandemic.
“Businesses have made it absolutely clear that this is the wrong time to bring this forward… timing is important, it is very important, it’s absolutely crucial,” he said.
“Businesses are struggling, they need to recover, and the last thing they need now is an extra tax and this is an extra tax.”
He added: “This is the wrong time, it’s an attack on employers, it’s bad for employees, it’s bad for jobs, it’s bad for the recovery from the pandemic.
“It’s the wrong time, it’s the wrong time for businesses, it’s the wrong time for staff and it should be stopped.”
Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said the scheme is “not a tax on workers per se”.
Gilruth, who spoke in favour of the workplace parking levy at the committee, said that, despite powers being given to councils from 1 March if the regulations are not annulled, any scheme would not start immediately and Glasgow City Council has suggested it could take up to three for implementation.
The minister drew parallels with Brexit, saying the UK Government chose to “plough ahead” with leaving the EU during “the worst excesses of the pandemic”.
She also told the committee no modelling has been done at government level to understand the impacts of the scheme, and that most of the evidence used for the scheme is from Nottingham City Council – where the only other such scheme in the UK is in operation.
“We can’t model in advance of the schemes taking place – we have to trust our local authority partners to do this and to get it right for their local communities,” the minister said.
Tory MSP Liam Kerr, who had asked the question about modelling, replied: “Extraordinary.”
Councils in England have been able to implement similar schemes for the past decade, with Gilruth saying there should be an “equivalence” with Scottish local authorities.
“If we trust local authorities in England and Wales to do this, why are we not trusting them in Scotland?” she said.
“I think it’s important to have an equivalence of opportunities for local authorities across the United Kingdom, and really we should be trusting our local authorities to do this.”
Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon said: “The SNP’s decision to hit workers with this levy while train and bus services are under threat is the wrong solution at the wrong time, and will raid the pockets of people already struggling with the cost of living crisis.
“The new transport minister can’t answer basic questions about the what the scheme will mean for workers, leaving people at risk of extortionate charges to plug the cuts the SNP have inflicted on council budgets.
“We need to drop these misguided plans and take immediate action to improve access to safe, green and affordable public transport.”
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “Workplace parking levies are a charter for extra cost and complexity, and it is disappointing that MSPs have backed them.
“The introduction of any levies will see firms taxed twice for the parking places they provide for staff, on top of the business rates already paid on those spaces.
“However, the failure to impose any cap on what can be charged or appropriately assess the business impact of the scheme means there can be little certainty on the effect of these proposals – it’s quite possible MSPs may well have voted for a pig in a poke.”
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