Background
The Road Traffic Act 1991 introduced provisions enabling the decriminalisation of most non-endorsable parking offences in London and permitted similar arrangements to be introduced elsewhere in the UK by secondary legislation. Currently 22 local authorities in Scotland operate Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) regimes in their areas. DPE is a regime that enables a local authority to enforce its own parking policies, including the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to motorists breaching parking controls in specified areas. DPE seeks to ensure that parking policies are implemented effectively and the underlying objective of DPE operation should be to achieve 100% compliance with parking controls and therefore no penalty charges.
In areas with DPE, stationary traffic offences cease to be criminal offences enforced by the police and instead become civil penalties imposed by local authorities. Enforcement of certain parking offences such as obstructive or dangerous parking remains the responsibility of Police Scotland.
Scottish Government position on DPE
The Scottish Government’s position is that decriminalised parking enforcement powers should contribute to a local authority’s overall transport objectives and thereby contribute to National and Regional Transport Strategies. Parking policies are an essential part of a local authority’s traffic management strategy and should be designed to manage the traffic network effectively, improving or maintaining traffic flow and reducing congestion. This improves road safety and the local environment and encourages, where appropriate, increased use of more sustainable and healthy forms of travel.
The integration of enforcement powers and parking policy should enhance local authority accountability to its residents for overall parking policy, as well as enabling better monitoring of the effectiveness and value of parking controls to ensure that such parking policy is responsive to public needs.
Local authorities with DPE powers
There are 22 local authorities in Scotland that have acquired DPE powers and these are listed in Table 1. The remaining local authorities, also listed in the table, are either actively working towards DPE, such as West Dunbartonshire Council, or are authorities who have decided that enforcement powers are not necessary at this time or are not desired for reasons such as cost of implementation.
| Local Authority | Status | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen City | DPE | 2003 |
| Aberdeenshire | Non-DPE | N/A |
| Angus | DPE | 2017 |
| Argyll and Bute | DPE | 2014 |
| City of Edinburgh | DPE | 1998 |
| Clackmannanshire | Non-DPE | N/A |
| Comhairle nan Eilean Sar | Non-DPE | N/A |
| Dumfries and Galloway | Non-DPE | N/A |
| Dundee City | DPE | 2004 |
| East Ayrshire | DPE | 2012 |
| East Dunbartonshire | DPE | 2014 |
| East Lothian | DPE | 2017 |
| East Renfrewshire | DPE | 2013 |
| Falkirk | DPE | 2018 |
| Fife | DPE | 2013 |
| Glasgow City | DPE | 1999 |
| Highland | DPE | 2016 |
| Inverclyde | DPE | 2014 |
| Midlothian | DPE | 2018 |
| Moray | Non-DPE | N/A |
| North Ayrshire | DPE | 2023 |
| North Lanarkshire | DPE | 2017 |
| Orkney Islands Council | Non-DPE | N/A |
| Perth and Kinross | DPE | 2002 |
| Renfrewshire | DPE | 2010 |
| Scottish Borders | Non-DPE | N/A |
| Shetland | Non-DPE | N/A |
| South Ayrshire | DPE | 2012 |
| South Lanarkshire | DPE | 2005 |
| Stirling | DPE | 2017 |
| West Dunbartonshire | DPE Pending | N/A |
| West Lothian | Non-DPE | N/A |