Chamber and committees

Exemptions for goods delivery vehicles are already set out in the act. There is a 20-minute limit on the delivery of goods. There is also an exemption for emergency vehicles and I think that one other type of vehicle also falls into that category.

Thank you for inviting me today to provide evidence on the draft Pavement Parking Prohibition (Exemption Orders Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2022.

As the committee will be aware, the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 already gives local authorities the relevant powers to exempt areas of footway from the pavement parking prohibitions. It also confers powers on Scottish ministers to make detailed provisions for the process that local authorities should follow when making, amending or revoking such exemption orders.

In line with commitments that were made when Parliament approved the 2019 act, the regulations were laid in Parliament last month, and the SSI, which is technical in nature, sets out the framework that local authorities must follow. Putting the regulations in place will support local authorities’ decision making by providing a consistent, fair and transparent process for all to follow when making exemption orders, and they are needed to give local authorities a detailed procedure for putting such orders in place where they deem appropriate and in line with the powers in the 2019 act.

In setting out the procedures, my officials have consulted the parking standards stakeholder working group, which consists of all 32 local authorities and other interested parties, and the group’s input has been really vital in shaping the regulations that are under discussion. As well as those views, we received 626 responses to the public consultation, the findings of which were published in June, and those comments have shaped the regulations, too.

It is important to stress that inconsistent, obstructive or dangerous parking can and does cause serious problems for everyone, and it puts the safety of pedestrians and, often, other motorists at risk. The pavement parking prohibitions, therefore, are aimed at promoting, supporting and advancing the rights of pedestrians to ensure that our pavements and roads are accessible to all.

Local authorities are best placed to make informed decisions on the management of their local road network, and the implementation of the regulations will allow them to complete their road assessment process and to determine appropriate exemptions to the ban that suit the needs of pedestrians and road users alike. There will be a period of around 12 months before the commencement of the enforcement regulations to give local authorities time to review any initial exemptions that they wish to put in place before they can undertake any enforcement action. Funding of £2.4 million has already been issued to local authorities over the past two years to allow the assessments to take place, and my officials will, of course, keep in touch with local authorities in order to gather information on the number of exemption orders that are likely to be promoted before they can start to issue penalty charge notices in late 2023.

It is also worth saying that Transport Scotland will be undertaking a significant awareness-raising campaign in the lead-up to the implementation of the new prohibitions and potential exemptions. The initial market research and design work for the campaign has already started, with the aim of going live in late 2023. That will ensure that the public are aware that they are permitted to park in areas where the local council has made an exemption order and that such areas will be clearly signed and lined.

I am happy to answer the committee’s questions on the content of the regulations.

I am satisfied. I might bring in my officials to talk about the history of the 2019 act, which you will appreciate pre-dates my time in office, but, as you know, the act introduced the national ban. What we are discussing today is the technical procedure that local authorities must follow. I will ask my officials to talk about the historical background of the definition that you have alluded to.

In relation to the national marketing campaign, I discussed that with officials yesterday. I have mentioned that the market research behind that is already under way. I do not have the budget line in front of me, but I am more than happy to write to the committee, if it would like to have evidence on the budget line that is associated with the campaign. The campaign is under way, so there will be an associated budget line.

On messaging, local authorities have a responsibility to consult their local communities and to carry out an equalities impact assessment. They can also use social media to promote the changes through different forums. No budget is associated with that per se, but I mentioned in my response to Mark Ruskell that there is £2.4 million-worth of funding to support local authorities with the assessment and implementation of the changes.

I am satisfied.

I take on board your point, convener; that is a vast area of Scotland. In the regulations, there is the power for local authorities to decide for themselves how to administer any hearings process; it is not for Government to dictate.

Some local authorities are further ahead on that than others. Some are obviously waiting for the regulations to come into force, as I hope they will following our discussion. That is why we have built in that 12-month period to allow local authorities to get it right.

The second point is that we have already provided £2.4 million of funding to local authorities in relation to signing and lining. I hope that that will help with regard to the specifics of Mark Ruskell’s point, but that is obviously a matter for local authorities to determine, recognising that they will be the best people to decide what is right for their local communities. Donald Morrison may want to say more; I see that he is indicating that.

The other thing to say is that, although we will be running a national campaign, local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that their local communities know that the changes are coming into force. Bluntly, there will have to be a sea change in parking behaviour and local authorities and Government need to be part of driving that. The market research behind our publicity campaign at national level is already under way, and we hope to bring that forward, further into 2023, to get the public ready for the changes.

I am happy to do so. It is worth saying that more regulations are coming forward on the parking ban. This instrument is the first part of the jigsaw.

No, I understand your point. However, I think that the position is different because, as I have said, certain local authorities are further down the line, while others have not yet started the process. We do not expect there to be exemptions to the national parking ban across vast swathes of the country. As I have mentioned, officials will continue to work with local authorities through the working group to monitor those costs.

Mr Kerr asked whether the £2.4 million-worth of funding is for marketing. The funding is to help local authorities with signing and lining, and changes to the procedure locally. There are a vast number of ways in which that funding is helping to support local authorities. Some will need that more than others, such as those that are looking to have exemptions or those that might have more streets that require exemptions. That gives us a mixed picture nationally in terms of the implementation of policy.

I am more than happy to continue to monitor the implementation of the procedure in relation to the assessment that local authorities will now be undertaking in the next 12 months and to give the committee interim updates as we progress towards the full ban coming into force at the end of 2023, if that would be helpful.