Surplus rises to £36.1 million
Local authorities in Scotland made a £36.1 million surplus or ‘profit’ from their parking activities in 2014/15.
This is 6% higher than in the previous financial year when £34 million was reported.
Data analysed by the RAC Foundation shows that between them, the 32 councils had a combined income from their parking activities – charges and penalty income from on- and off-street parking – of £75.4 million.
However the combined cost for councils of running their parking activities was £39.3 million.
Once these costs are subtracted from the income then the surplus (or deficit) is left.
Once again Edinburgh had the biggest surplus (£17.4 million).
It was followed by Glasgow (£11.4 million) and Aberdeen (£4.5 million).
Between them these three local authorities generated 92% of the total net surplus in Scotland.
Of the 32 councils studied:
- 17 showed a surplus
- 2 did not provide parking accounts
- 13 showed a deficit
The full table is in notes to editors below.
The analysis was carried out for the RAC Foundation by David Leibling. The data studied is that which is returned annually to the Scottish government by local authorities.
Parking income figures are not broken down into their constituent parts so it not possible to see exactly how much is derived from penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued by councils.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:
“These numbers reveal where the money is being made from parking, and where it is not.
“Some of the variance will simply be down to the size of towns and cities. But it will also reflect parking policies. Some councils will actively be keeping the price of parking down to attract shoppers to high streets, which might still be feeling the aftereffects of the recession. Elsewhere charges might be used to manage demand for limited spaces.
“Where large surpluses are being generated there are undoubtedly long lists of worthy transport schemes waiting to be funded. High on that list will be road maintenance. Like the rest of the UK, Scottish roads are not immune to potholes.”
This is the full table of Scottish local authority parking surpluses:
|
Surplus |
% change in surplus between 2013/14 and 2014/15 |
% change in deficit between 2013/14 and 2014/15 |
|||||
|
2011/ 12 |
2012/ 13 |
2013/ 14 |
2014/ 15 |
||||
|
£million |
|||||||
|
1 |
Edinburgh, City of |
14.01 |
15.23 |
15.30 |
17.36 |
13 |
|
|
2 |
Glasgow City |
6.82 |
10.86 |
10.31 |
11.36 |
10 |
|
|
3 |
Aberdeen City |
4.32 |
4.36 |
4.89 |
4.51 |
-8 |
|
|
4 |
Dundee City |
1.35 |
0.75 |
1.18 |
1.20 |
1 |
|
|
5 |
Perth & Kinross |
1.04 |
0.61 |
0.71 |
0.67 |
-6 |
|
|
6 |
South Lanarkshire |
0.58 |
0.31 |
0.46 |
0.61 |
32 |
|
|
7 |
Renfrewshire |
0.71 |
0.57 |
0.61 |
0.52 |
-15 |
|
|
8 |
Highland |
0.32 |
0.24 |
0.29 |
0.40 |
40 |
|
|
9 |
Argyll & Bute |
0.43 |
0.40 |
0.28 |
0.33 |
17 |
|
|
10 |
Fife |
0.55 |
0.85 |
0.34 |
0.30 |
-11 |
|
|
11 |
East Ayrshire |
0.38 |
0.32 |
0.23 |
0.25 |
8 |
|
|
12 |
South Ayrshire |
0.05 |
0.17 |
0.25 |
0.25 |
0 |
|
|
13 |
Moray |
0.36 |
0.26 |
0.22 |
0.24 |
9 |
|
|
14 |
Stirling |
(0.02) |
(0.08) |
0.15 |
0.14 |
-8 |
|
|
15 |
Aberdeenshire |
0.28 |
0.27 |
0.24 |
0.13 |
-46 |
|
|
16 |
Falkirk |
0.13 |
0.08 |
0.14 |
0.05 |
-60 |
|
|
17 |
Shetland Islands |
(0.01) |
(0.01) |
(0.00) |
0.00 |
|
|
|
18 |
East Lothian |
– |
– |
– |
– |
|
|
|
19 |
North Lanarkshire |
– |
– |
– |
– |
|
|
|
20 |
Orkney Islands |
0.01 |
0.01 |
(0.03) |
(0.01) |
|
-60 |
|
21 |
Eilean Siar (Hebrides) |
0.01 |
0.02 |
(0.05) |
(0.05) |
|
-6 |
|
22 |
East Renfrewshire |
(0.04) |
(0.12) |
(0.07) |
(0.08) |
|
7 |
|
23 |
West Dunbartonshire |
(0.08) |
(0.08) |
(0.08) |
(0.09) |
|
8 |
|
24 |
Inverclyde |
– |
– |
(0.09) |
(0.09) |
|
8 |
|
25 |
Midlothian |
(0.09) |
(0.08) |
(0.06) |
(0.09) |
|
68 |
|
26 |
Clackmannanshire |
(0.05) |
(0.09) |
(0.09) |
(0.10) |
|
5 |
|
27 |
West Lothian |
(0.10) |
(0.10) |
(0.14) |
(0.11) |
|
-27 |
|
28 |
Angus |
(0.15) |
(0.13) |
(0.16) |
(0.13) |
|
-21 |
|
29 |
Dumfries & Galloway |
(0.26) |
(0.27) |
(0.22) |
(0.20) |
|
-10 |
|
30 |
Scottish Borders |
(0.11) |
0.17 |
(0.21) |
(0.24) |
|
15 |
|
31 |
East Dunbartonshire |
(0.06) |
(0.11) |
(0.28) |
(0.33) |
|
16 |
|
32 |
North Ayrshire |
(0.25) |
(0.11) |
(0.14) |
(0.67) |
|
393 |
|
Total |
30.11 |
34.29 |
33.98 |
36.13 |
6 |
|
|
ENDS
Contacts:
Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation
020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | [email protected] | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN)
Notes to editors:
The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist.
The RAC Foundation is a registered charity, number 1002705.
This is a link to David Leibling’s report:
