Humsa Yousaf has sparked outrage as Glasgow drivers are set to be charged hundreds of pounds for parking at work under a new SNP scheme.
Scotland’s largest city is pushing ahead with the Scottish National Party’s Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) which could see thousands of workers who drive to their place of work charged up to £650 per year.
The SNP-Green Party alliance in Holyrood gave local authorities north of the border the power to impose a tax on any company or organisation which has staff parking spaces.
NHS premises, disabled spaces, hospices and GP surgeries aren’t included in the scheme, but care homes, offices, hotels and schools are, meaning the WPL will hit a sizeable swathe of the city’s workforce.
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Graham Simpson told the Scottish Daily Express: “Once again, SNP-run Glasgow City Council are choosing to hammer motorists and businesses in the city. Bashing workers is not the answer.”
He added: “Many of them – particularly modestly paid hospitality staff – depend on a car because of their unsociable hours.
“They and their employers should not have to pay the price for the SNP’s mismanagement of council budgets, especially when they are already dealing with Glasgow’s chaotic LEZ (low emission zone) restrictions.”
Business leaders and retailers have warned the WPL could damage the city’s economy. Councils in Scotland have had the powers to introduce the scheme since March 2022, but not one has yet done so.
But the Daily Mail reports Glasgow council is to press ahead with the levy, appointing a consultancy firm to draw up implementation plans.
Ian Taylor, director of the Alliance of British Drivers, said: “It’s appalling to tax people simply for going to work.”
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said it has appointed consultancy firm Systra to develop the workplace parking licensing scheme.
Systra has previously forecast WPL would raise up to £6million a year if implemented in the city centre and £30m annually if rolled out across the whole of Glasgow.
Glasgow City Council’s spokesman said: “Work is being undertaken in support of the development of a business case for such a scheme.”
WPL will see employers who provide parking spaces for staff forced to apply for a licence, with the cost based on the number of spaces available.
Firms will then have to decide whether to absorb the cost – or pass it on to their employees.
Plans for the scheme were drawn up by the Scottish government as part of its budget agreement with the Greens in 2019.
Scotland’s scheme follows a similar initiative introduced in Nottingham in 2012 as part of a bid to reduce traffic congestion in the city.
