Question reference: S5W-11041
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 4 September 2017
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 18 September 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to (a) police or penalise owners of non-electric vehicles parked in public charging bays for electric vehicles and (b) increase the number of charging bays to encourage the use of electric vehicles.
Answer
The responsibility for managing parking in public charging bays is a matter for the charging bay host, usually the local authority. Currently 18 out of the 32 Local authorities now enforce the Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) regime, which allows them to issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to motorists. Police Scotland continue to undertake targeted enforcement where there are specific local issues and a local authority has requested support. Where parking is dangerous or causes significant obstruction, Police Scotland will task police officers to resolve the issue using the appropriate enforcement activity, including parking tickets, other direct measures or prosecution reports. Future improvements will be sought by taking findings from the recent ‘Improved parking in Scotland’ consultation which asked for views on the best approach for managing parking and incorporating them into provisions for the new Government Transport Bill.
The National Framework of Local Incentives for Electric Vehicles, developed in conjunction with local authorities and other key stakeholders, explores the introduction of local measures to encourage people to switch to EVs, and parking is one of the four key policy areas addressed. As part of the Transport Scotland grant funding conditions, hosts are advised that all ChargePlace Scotland electric vehicle charge points must have clear markings on charging bays to indicate that they are for the sole use of electric vehicles.
As detailed in last week’s Programme for Government announcement, in order to lead the way on electric vehicles, we plan to expand our electric charging infrastructure between now and 2022, whether in rural, urban or domestic settings. We will set out detailed plans over the coming months.