Dundee makes £5.01 per daytime resident in parking fines while Angus makes 11p, figures show
Crusaders accuse councils of using drivers as ‘cash cows’
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Councils were accused by campaigners yesterday of using motorists as “cash cows” – despite research showing the money raised in parking fines dropped 16% last year.
Figures obtained by the TaxPayers Alliance (TPA), which campaigns for lower taxes, showed the total income generated by parking fines enforcement for 2008-09 was £328million – down from £379million the previous year.
The report, compiled in partnership with the Drivers Alliance, showed English authorities were collecting an average of £6.14 per daytime resident – people who live or work in an area or travel there to do their job.
The highest earner was Kensington and Chelsea in London, where the income from parking fines was £85.29 per daytime resident.
In Scotland, the average was just £1.71. Edinburgh was the highest-earning council, making just under £12 per daytime resident.
Dundee’s rate was £5.01 and Aberdeen’s £4.74. Angus and Highland were among the lowest-earning local authorities, at just 11p and 13p respectively.
Councils were given control of parking enforcement from the police and the right to keep the profits in 1991. Any surplus income from parking enforcement is usually ring fenced for local transportation improvement and environment improvements.
The TPA said the fall in income could be due to the recession making drivers more cautious about risking a fine, rather than councils going easy on motorists.
Jennifer Dunn, policy analyst with both alliances, said: “For many councils parking fines have become a lucrative source of income. But while revenues are being made at the cost of the motorist, taxpayers haven’t seen their council tax fall or their local services improve.
“Motorists are being treated like cash cows, but the only people that appear to be benefiting are wardens and their bosses.”
Aberdeen City Council insisted the system was not about making money. A spokeswoman said: “Our city wardens target areas where there are known problems, and work hard to tackle illegal and dangerous parking to improve safety in the city. Their parking role focuses on road safety and maintaining the free flow of traffic, not on income generation.”
The income from parking fines in Angus rose from just £1,287 in 2007-08 to £10,595 last year. A council spokeswoman said the increase came about after it filled a number of warden vacancies, and said staff only fined drivers for breaching parking rules as all of the local-authority-run car parks in the county are free.
Dundee City Council’s total fell from £832,800 to £812,064. Falkirk made £24,890 in 2008-09 (18p), compared with £27,300 the year before, while in Stirling the income amounted to £19,945 (22p), down from £25,875. In Highland it was £26,573, down from £30,882.
