Workplace parking charges have been rejected by West Lothian Council after they were branded a “discretionary taxation”.
The SNP opposition agreed there was no need for it in the largely rural West Lothian and criticised Labour for raising the motion at a meeting of the full council in the first place.
Speaking to an amendment, Councillor Robert de Bold also criticised Labour for its refusal to consider greener options and said: “You didn’t need to pass a motion on this. You just need to not do it.”
The Scottish Government regulations which will allow councils to impose workplace parking charges come into force next month.
The motion raised by Labour group leader Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick said: “Council also agrees that our populace has sufficient concern as regards rising energy and food costs, without having to worry about being taxed for attending their place of work.”
He added that in a 24-hour economy many workers relied on cars to get to and from work because there was no alternative.
He added: “Council agrees NOT to invoke this power so as to give assurance to employers and staff that this poorly thought out legislation will not impact on their pockets and further instructs the chief executive to write to the First Minister setting out our council’s reasons.”
Councillor Fitzpatrick said he was bothered by the suggestion that the parking charges were offered by the Scottish Government as a way of giving councils the right to raise funds, after cutting local authority budgets by 23% since 2007.
Councillor de Bold’s amendment recognised that the decision to implement the charges - known as the Workplace Parking Levy - was down to individual councils, and that any funds raised must be used to support greener alternatives.
But it added: “Council agrees that given the predominantly rural nature of West Lothian interspersed with numerous medium‐sized towns that a Workplace Parking Levy would not be suitable to the commuting needs of local workers.”
Depute council leader Kirsteen Sullivan questioned the civility of accusations made during the debate that Labour was “duplicitous” in its motion by saying it did not want to add to the financial burdens of locals, after increasing household costs in the recent budget decisions.
She suggested the SNP raising an amendment which agreed with the motion’s proposals not to introduce the charges was little more than “gesture politics.”
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