The Act Imposition of penalty charges – section 58
367.Subsection (1) provides that a penalty charge is payable where a person parks a motor vehicle in contravention of the pavement parking prohibition, the double parking prohibition or the dropped footway parking prohibition.
368.Subsection (2) provides that where a local authority considers that a penalty charge is payable in respect of a contravention occurring in its area, the local authority may issue a penalty charge notice, which must be issued in accordance with regulations to be made by the Scottish Ministers under section 59(1).
369.Under section 64, a local authority may enter into arrangements with another person for that person to issue a penalty charge notice under subsection (2) on behalf of the local authority.
370.A penalty charge notice may be issued by (or on behalf of) a local authority under subsection (2) only on the basis of either: (a) conduct observed by an authorised enforcement officer (see the definition of “authorised enforcement officer” in subsection (6) – discussed below) or (b) a record produced by an “approved device”, meaning a device approved under or in accordance with regulations made by the Scottish Ministers under section 59(1) in connection with the enforcement of the pavement parking, the double parking prohibition or the dropped footway parking prohibition (see definition of “approved device” in subsection (6)).
371.Subsection (4) provides that a penalty charge imposed by a penalty charge notice is payable by the registered keeper of a motor vehicle (meaning the person in whose name the vehicle is registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 at the time of the contravention to which the penalty charge relates) or, in circumstances that may be specified in regulations made by the Scottish Ministers under subsection (4)(b), by another person who may be specified in those regulations. This regulation making power to specify other persons who are liable to pay a penalty charge is subject to a consultation requirement. It is likely to be used to specify, among other things, that where a hire car is parked in contravention of the pavement parking or double parking prohibition, the driver of the hire car (rather than the car hire company which is likely to be the registered keeper of the vehicle) is responsible for paying the penalty charge.
372.Under subsection (5), the Scottish Ministers have power by regulations (made following consultation) to make provision for or in connection with the amount to be imposed as a penalty charge, which may be used, for example, to prescribe a specific amount that may be imposed by local authorities as a penalty charge, or it could be used to specify a maximum amount that may be imposed as a penalty charge. In addition, the Scottish Ministers may specify in these regulations the discounts or surcharges that may be applied to the amount of a penalty charge, the circumstances in which a surcharge or discount may be applied and the amount of any surcharge or discount that may be applied by a local authority.
373.Under subsection (6), an authorised enforcement officer is a person appointed in connection with the pavement parking or double parking prohibitions by the local authority issuing a penalty charge notice or employed by another person with whom the local authority has entered into arrangements as mentioned in section 64. An authorised enforcement officer is also required to wear a uniform of a type to be determined by the local authority issuing the penalty charge notice (or on whose behalf the penalty charge is issued) and that determination is to be made in accordance with any directions given to the local authority under section 67(1).