Surplus £10 million higher than five years earlier
Local authorities in Scotland made a £40.3 million surplus or ‘profit’ from their parking activities in 2015-16.
This is 12% higher than in the 2014-15 financial year when £36.1 million was reported.
Data analysed for 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 £79.3 million.
However, the combined cost for councils of running their parking activities was £39.0 million.
The difference between income and expenditure is the surplus of £40.3 million.
Once again Edinburgh had the largest surplus at £19.4 million (up from £17.4 million in 2014-15).
It was followed by Glasgow at £12.6 million (£11.4 million in 2014-15).
Aberdeen had the third largest surplus at £4.9 million (£4.5 million in 2014-15).
Between them these three local authorities generated 91% of the total net surplus in Scotland.
Of the 32 councils in Scotland:
- 15 showed a surplus
- 2 made neither a deficit nor a surplus
- 13 showed a deficit
- 2 did not provide parking accounts
The full table is in notes to editors below.
The analysis was carried out for the RAC Foundation by David Leibling. The data come from local authorities’ annual returns to the Scottish government.
These official parking income figures are not broken down into their constituent parts and do not show how much is derived from penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued by councils.
However, a December 2016 report by the Scottish Parliament Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee put the number of parking tickets (PCNs) issued in Scotland in 2015-16 at 466,000 – creating an income of £14.74 million – broadly in line with the previous year when 457,000 PCNs were issued.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:
“Providing and managing the space for us to park our cars is not a cost-free activity for councils, but controlling those costs is clearly important.
“By keeping the bills down and seeing a rise in parking income there has been a significant increase in the annual surplus, or profit, councils are making from parking activities. The good news is that this money must be re-invested in transport services including, Scottish drivers will expect, maintaining the road network.
“Amongst the numbers in our report, Scottish motorists will note that a fifth of parking income comes from the near half a million penalty charge notices issued.”
This is the full table of Scottish local authority parking surpluses:
|
£million |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
% change in surplus between 2014-15 & 2015-16 |
% change in deficit between 2014-15 & 2015-16 |
|
|
1 |
Edinburgh, City of |
15.23 |
15.3 |
17.36 |
19.36 |
12% |
|
|
2 |
Glasgow City |
10.86 |
10.31 |
11.36 |
12.58 |
11% |
|
|
3 |
Aberdeen City |
4.36 |
4.89 |
4.51 |
4.89 |
8% |
|
|
4 |
Dundee City |
0.75 |
1.18 |
1.20 |
1.65 |
37% |
|
|
5 |
Renfrewshire |
0.57 |
0.61 |
0.52 |
0.70 |
34% |
|
|
6 |
South Lanarkshire |
0.31 |
0.46 |
0.61 |
0.63 |
3% |
|
|
7 |
East Ayrshire |
0.32 |
0.23 |
0.25 |
0.57 |
126% |
|
|
8 |
Highland |
0.24 |
0.29 |
0.40 |
0.40 |
0% |
|
|
9 |
Argyll & Bute |
0.40 |
0.28 |
0.33 |
0.36 |
10% |
|
|
10 |
South Ayrshire |
0.17 |
0.25 |
0.25 |
0.33 |
31% |
|
|
11 |
Moray |
0.26 |
0.22 |
0.24 |
0.26 |
7% |
|
|
12 |
Perth & Kinross |
0.61 |
0.71 |
0.67 |
0.22 |
-67% |
|
|
13 |
Fife |
0.85 |
0.34 |
0.30 |
0.18 |
-40% |
|
|
14 |
Stirling |
-0.08 |
0.15 |
0.14 |
0.16 |
16% |
|
|
15 |
Inverclyde |
– |
-0.09 |
-0.09 |
0.03 |
-134% |
|
|
16 |
Falkirk |
0.08 |
0.14 |
0.05 |
0.00 |
||
|
17 |
Shetland Islands |
-0.01 |
0 |
0 |
0.00 |
||
|
18 |
Orkney Islands |
0.01 |
-0.03 |
-0.01 |
-0.01 |
30% |
|
|
19 |
Eilean Siar (Hebrides) |
0.02 |
-0.05 |
-0.05 |
-0.06 |
12% |
|
|
20 |
Clackmannanshire |
-0.09 |
-0.09 |
-0.10 |
-0.08 |
-22% |
|
|
21 |
West Dunbartonshire |
-0.08 |
-0.08 |
-0.09 |
-0.09 |
-4% |
|
|
22 |
Angus |
-0.13 |
-0.16 |
-0.13 |
-0.11 |
-17% |
|
|
23 |
North Ayrshire |
-0.11 |
-0.14 |
-0.67 |
-0.11 |
-83% |
|
|
24 |
Midlothian |
-0.08 |
-0.06 |
-0.09 |
-0.14 |
50% |
|
|
25 |
West Lothian |
-0.1 |
-0.14 |
-0.11 |
-0.14 |
30% |
|
|
26 |
Aberdeenshire |
0.27 |
0.24 |
0.13 |
-0.15 |
-217% |
|
|
27 |
East Renfrewshire |
-0.12 |
-0.07 |
-0.08 |
-0.17 |
109% |
|
|
28 |
Scottish Borders |
0.17 |
-0.21 |
-0.24 |
-0.21 |
-13% |
|
|
29 |
Dumfries & Galloway |
-0.27 |
-0.22 |
-0.20 |
-0.23 |
17% |
|
|
30 |
East Dunbartonshire |
-0.11 |
-0.28 |
-0.33 |
-0.50 |
50% |
|
|
31 |
East Lothian |
– |
– |
– |
– |
||
|
32 |
North Lanarkshire |
– |
– |
– |
– |
||
|
Total |
34.29 |
33.98 |
36.13 |
40.31 |
12% |
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.
All the Foundation’s work is available on its website:
This is a link to David Leibling’s report:
This is a link to the December 2016 report by the Scottish Parliament Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee:
http://www.parliament.scot/S5_Rural/Meeting%20Papers/20161221_REC_Committee_Public_Paper.pdf
