London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

MSPs' green light for workplace parking levy

MSPs' green light for workplace parking levy

Plans for a tax on workplace parking spaces are part of a transport bill expected to be passed at Holyrood.

The proposal is part of a series of changes to transport in Scotland being put to a final vote at Holyrood.

An attempt by Scottish Labour to remove the parking levy aspect was defeated during a debate on Wednesday.

The Scottish government's transport bill will also shake up bus services, introduce low emission zones in cities and ban parking on pavements.


Will you have to pay to park at work?


The SNP agreed to back the workplace parking levy proposals as part of a budget deal with the Scottish Greens so it is almost certain to be passed by a majority of MSPs in the vote later on Thursday.

This bill would give local authorities across Scotland the power to charge businesses an annual fee for every parking space they provide for workers.

The firms themselves would then decide whether to pass the cost on to staff.

How will a workplace parking scheme work?

The new law would give all Scottish councils the power to impose the levy - so far only Glasgow and Edinburgh have signalled they plan to do so


It is likely to be modelled on a scheme in Nottingham, the only UK city to have implemented a workplace parking levy, where employers offering more than 10 spaces are charged £415 a year for every space


It is up to them to decide if they pass this cost on to staff - in Nottingham 80% of big employers do recoup at least part of it from their workers


Employers in Nothingham have adopted different ways of reclaiming the money, for example the city council deducts a percentage of annual salary, meaning higher paid workers pay more


NHS sites would be exempt for the Scottish scheme but it would be up to councils to decide on other exemptions
Money raised from the levy would reinvested in improving transport

The Transport (Scotland) Bill also aims to halt a decline in bus passenger numbers by giving councils and regional transport partnerships more flexibility to improve services, either by working with bus companies or by stepping in and running services themselves.

It also provides for a ban on double parking and parking on pavements, powers for enforcing low-emission zones in cities and new regulations overseeing roadworks.

A series of amendments to the wide ranging bill were put forward by MSPs in a late sitting of Holyrood on Wednesday.

This included a bid to remove the workplace parking levy by Scottish Labour MSP Neil Bibby, who claimed less well-off workers would be the hardest hit.

He said: "Be in no doubt, this levy is a regressive tax on workers that will the lowest paid hardest.

"It is not consequence-free, it is not fundamentally a solution to climate change and far from incentivising modal shift, it penalises those for whom modal shift is not an option.

"It's not an option because for many working people, public transport in Scotland is simply not good enough."

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson accused Scottish Labour of "hypocrisy" over their opposition to the proposal, highlighting the introduction of a similar scheme at the Labour-run Nottingham City Council.

He added: "It's a power, not a duty. There is a high degree of local decision making in how a scheme is set up, with local authorities having wide powers to shape how that scheme is shaped to meet local needs."

Tory MSPs moved a string of amendments, aimed at ensuring a range of workplaces, such as schools and colleges, police and fire stations, prisons and veterinary practices were exempt, as well as shift workers and night workers.

But these were rejected, with Mr Matheson saying local authorities would have a "very wide range of powers to apply local exemptions to premises, persons or motor vehicles".

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said the plan was a "charter for extra cost and complexity".

He added: "The introduction of a levy will see firms' taxed twice for the parking places they provide for staff, on top of the business rates already paid on those spaces.

"The dearth any business and regulatory impact assessment to accompany the introduction of this new tax is bewildering, and suggests MSPs risk voting for a pig in a poke."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
×