Teachers could be among those forced to accept a workplace car park tax, prompting claims that their recent pay rise would be wiped out. Proposals giving councils the power to introduce a fee for parking at work were published yesterday. Health staff at hospitals, hospices and GP surgeries have been granted exemptions. Others in the public sector, including teachers and social workers, argued that they should also be exempt. In February Nicola Sturgeon’s spokesman said MSPs would consider excusing other groups from the charge. In Nottingham, the only place in Britain with such fees, employers with 11 or more parking spaces must pay £400 a year. Some pass the charges on to workers. So far only Glasgow and Edinburgh have expressed an interest, with many councils ruling out the levy. Teachers have said they would be forced to quit the profession if they had to pay the tax, according to the EIS teaching union. Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservative finance spokesman, said that the “unfair and unnecessary” tax would cancel out the 13.5 per cent pay settlement recently agreed.
Times 10th May 2019 read more »