AN SNP minister has been accused of attempting to “frighten the life out of businesses” after confirming there will be no upper limit for councils to charge workers to park at work under contentious proposals to raise revenue for transport infrastructure.

The Scottish Government is handing powers to councils to introduce workplace parking levels, as authorities can do in England and Wales, which would mean workers wishing to park at their work would face a fee or charge – unless the employer decides to pay the costs itself.

Local authorities who are considering a workplace parking levy will have to undertake their own consultation and impact assessments before deciding whether to implement such a scheme and how it should be designed and operate in their area.

In Nottingham, employers with more than 10 staff parking spaces are required to pay just over £400 per space to the council with the funding used to pay for the city’s tram extension and other public transport projects.

The Scottish Conservatives have consistently opposed the proposals, while Labour has also criticised the idea despite the party’s leader on Edinburgh City Council backing the scheme.

SNP Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth, has now confirmed that it will be up to local authorities to set how much each parking space will be charged at.

Speaking at Holyrood’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, Conservative transport spokesperson, Graham Simpson, warned he “cannot see anything in the regulations that sets a limit to what councils can charge for a licence”.

Ms Gilruth, who took over the transport briefing last month after the resignation of Graeme Dey, confirmed it would be a matter for councils to decide.

She said: “It is, of course, for local authorities to take a view on the limit that will be reached in terms of whatever they want to set the fee or the charge at.

“I think it’s important that the responsibility for local authorities to look at their own local circumstances and decide what that might be.”

Mr Simpson said he was “quite astonished” by no upper limit being imposed.

He said: “The minister and her official have just confirmed that there’s no limit whatsoever on what councils can charge for a licence.

“That will frighten the life out of businesses across Scotland.

“The Scottish Chambers of Commerce and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Glasgow being one of the cities where this could be introduced, say this levy should be scrapped or at least put on hold while we recover from the pandemic. Is that not something the minister has considered?”

But Ms Gilruth rejected a delay, instead accusing Mr Simpson of being “on the margins of scaremongering”.

She added: “This is a matter for local authorities to decide upon. “If I was to come and set a top limit for this, I would be accused of interfering with local democratic principles.

We have got to get the balance right. I would expect them to set an appropriate cost accordingly.”

Dr Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “Businesses are still recovering from the financial impact of the pandemic, which has severely reduced trade and significantly increased costs over the past two years, hitting our town and city centres hard.

“By failing to impose a cap on charges, businesses across Scotland will now face a postcode lottery and some difficult decisions at a critical point in their recovery.

“Many businesses are concerned that local authorities, whose budgets are already stretched, may now seek to implement this levy as a revenue stream rather than for purely environmental reasons.

“To support Scotland’s economic recovery, the Scottish Government should think again about the negative impact that unlimited workplace parking levy charges will have on Scotland’s businesses.”

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Simpson said: “The Transport Minister’s admission that there is to be no cap on workplace parking levies will terrify city centre businesses and workers.

“The hands-off approach from the SNP Government could see local authorities run riot.

“SNP-run Glasgow City Council are already seeing pound signs - but they and others must recognise the impact of these levies."

He added: “The decision to not even impose a cap on charges will leave many businesses with the dilemma of whether to push the cost onto cash-strapped employees or bear the brunt of it themselves as they try to get back on their feet.

“With councils having free rein to set levies, we could see massive disparity in charges across the country. The Transport Minister has failed to consider the potential impact of this unfair and shambolic scheme.”