Chamber and committees

There are a number of things to say on that. I think that the committee has looked at clean air enforcement issues more generally and has reflected on the fact that local authorities use their discretion. In some circumstances, however, they have taken a stronger enforcement line when they have been trying to persuade people to understand the issue.

It is clear that local authorities have powers in this area. Normally, the Government gets criticised for being overzealous in telling local authorities what to do, but this is an issue on which we have to respect local authorities, who know their communities, their towns and their areas, and so they know the level of enforcement that they want to carry out. That is why they have discretion in the extent to which they carry out that enforcement. We are giving them the powers to enable that, and the penalties will be, we hope, a diversionary implement.

The use of “teachable moments”—if that is the term that you used—is really important. We all know that there are many behaviours in relation to cars—such as not wearing seat belts and drink driving—that, over many years, have changed in line with changes in what is acceptable. In recent years, coming through the pandemic, people have walked their streets more, they own their places more and they want to be able to do that in comfort. All of us who have children have probably been in a situation with pavement parking—I was reflecting that I had two children in a double buggy. The most frustrating thing when someone is pavement parking is that they are, by and large, forcing women with young children on to the streets. We are saying, “Do you know that that isn’t acceptable? Why don’t we just agree that we don’t do that?” There is a behavioural aspect, which is why there will be a marketing campaign to persuade people to change that behaviour.

On enforcement, local authorities have the tools, they have the legislation and they now have the opportunity to use penalty notices as well. We are providing the tools so that, if they want to use the stick, they can. However, why do we, as a country, not just say, “Let’s stop pavement parking and allow people to use the pavements with freedom”? Whether we are talking about people with guide dogs or in wheelchairs, elderly people walking their dogs in narrow spaces or parents or grandparents with buggies, we should let people use the pavements.

Again, it is up to local authorities to decide what they need to do when it comes to their own processes. Some are further ahead than others, but we are providing the powers for them to carry out enforcement using penalty notices if they choose to do that. It is up to them to work out their level of enforcement. Clearly, some local authorities might want to take a heavier hand sooner rather than later, but the more commonsense point of view, which has just been illustrated, is to give people notice in some shape or form to raise awareness—it is about saying, “Look, this is coming in now,” whether that is through leaflets or whatever, in the relevant streets.

We have some estimates, but again we are working with SCOTS—that is, the transportation officers—and with local authorities on what they think that they will need. Obviously, it is part of the on-going discussion that we are having with COSLA and local authorities.

It would be a commonsense approach for a local authority to determine in its own local area whether it has such bays and what it needs. It is important to understand that you have in front of you the regulations for the enforcement and the penalties and so on. It will be a matter for local authorities to establish in their own local areas how, and the degree to which, the regulations are enforced and how the exemptions—as opposed to the areas that are already designated for parking—are treated.

Thank you for inviting me to provide evidence on the Parking Prohibitions (Enforcements and Accounts) (Scotland) Regulations 2023.

As members are aware, the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 prohibits pavement parking, double parking and parking at dropped kerbs and provides for penalty charges to apply where those prohibitions are contravened. To support that, the regulations laid in Parliament last month provide local authorities with the procedure to follow when enforcing the parking prohibitions. That will enable them to issue penalty charge notices to those in contravention of those prohibitions of £100, reducing to £50 if paid within 14 days.

That brings to a conclusion a significant package of work that was progressed following the implementation of the act, including regulations that were brought into force in December 2022 that gave local authorities a procedure to follow to exempt areas of footway in their areas from the pavement parking prohibitions. We have also progressed commencement regulations to bring the relevant provisions of the act into force. Passing these regulations will be the final part of enabling those important parking prohibitions to come into effective operation.

Earlier this year, as part of the development of the regulations, a public consultation was carried out. Almost 500 responses were received from a mix of individuals, local authorities and community councils. The feedback from the consultation showed that the public are overwhelmingly in support of the regulations to improve accessibility on our roads and pavements.

My officials have been working closely with local authorities across Scotland to assist them in preparing for the regulations coming into force. The input received was vital in shaping the regulations that are now under discussion. In addition, my officials continue to work closely with local authorities and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to identify what further funding will be required to facilitate the implementation of the regulations and provide support to authorities in setting up back-office functions to enforce the regulations effectively.

The regulations and the subsequent parking standards guidance, which will go hand in hand with the regulations, are needed to provide local authorities with a procedure to follow when enforcing the parking prohibitions and will be in line with the powers that are provided in the 2019 act. They also set out the procedures to be followed in relation to the appeals process and the circumstances in which a penalty charge notice may be appealed. The regulations also lay out the procedures to be followed in respect of the keeping of accounts and the purposes for which any financial surplus can be used.

It is important to stress that inconsiderate, obstructive or dangerous parking can and does cause serious problems for everyone and puts the safety of pedestrians and other motorists in jeopardy. The parking prohibitions are aimed at promoting, supporting and advancing the rights of pavement users, to ensure that our pavements and roads are accessible for all. Transport Scotland will also launch an awareness campaign in the coming days to ensure that the public are aware of the new regulations and the fact that local authorities will have the power to issue and enforce penalty charge notices from 11 December, should the regulations be approved by Parliament.

The campaign will focus on changing the behaviour of drivers who park inconsiderately and on raising awareness of the impact that that can have on all pavement users. I am happy to answer any questions that the committee might have on the content of the regulations.

The guidance is being prepared and finalised. Mr Doris makes a very good point, and I am sure that, if it is not already shaped in the guidance, we could consider putting it in. It is a very good point; it is not about whether the regulations have either a mass impact or an impact on the quality of life for one individual, because both are important.

I was keen to bring forward the marketing campaign because, although there was a lot of awareness at the time that the Government adopted Sandra White’s member’s bill into the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, which was passed at the end of that year, time has passed since the ban was brought in on double parking, dropped kerb parking and pavement parking. That is why it is important to remind people that the Parliament passed that law in 2019, and that what is happening now is the delivery, the operation and the final elements of bringing it into force by providing the enforcement and the penalty notice process.

There has to be action on awareness, because of the passage of time. There is a duty and responsibility on us all to help in making sure that people are aware—because, I suspect, they might not be aware. Although they might be aware of pavement parking as an issue, they are not necessarily aware of the dropped kerb issue. That is a challenge because, as you said, people might not be sighted on dropped kerbs. Again, it is for local authorities and their enforcement officers to identify what is reasonable or unreasonable, and what a commonsense approach would be in such a situation.

I am happy to just move it.

I move,

That the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee recommends that the Parking Prohibitions (Enforcement and Accounts) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 be approved.

Good morning, convener and committee. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 was designed to make Scotland’s transport network cleaner, smarter and more accessible than ever before. During stages 2 and 3 of the parliamentary passage of the bill that became the 2019 act, a significant number of amendments were made. For context, the convener may recall that the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee considered more than 400 amendments at stage 2 and that the consideration of amendments at stage 3 lasted for around seven hours. That included amendments to provisions that amended existing primary legislation and the introduction of new provisions to which cross-references were made.

As a consequence, the bill as passed contained a significant number of provisions that required to be renumbered and cross-references that had to be corrected before its publication. When that exercise was undertaken, a substantial number of cross-references and other numbering errors were corrected in a short timescale, prior to the publication of the act. However, in a few cases, unfortunately, cross-references were not updated.

The primary purpose of the regulations, therefore, is to correct those erroneous cross-references and the incorrect numbering in the act’s provisions on bus services and smart ticketing. The regulations also remove duplicate provision on the parliamentary procedure that attaches to regulations under the act.

We are also using the opportunity to correct one minor drafting error in section 55 of the act—on parking prohibitions—to ensure that the effect of that provision is clear.

The regulations make relatively minor technical amendments to the act, to ensure that full effect is given to the Parliament’s intention in passing it. I am happy to answer any questions that members may have.

If you are happy for me to do so, I am happy just to move the motion.