National news APDS releases version 4 The Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS) has released the latest version of its global specification for parking data. Version 4.0 of the Global Data Specification facilitates seamless integration, compatibility and communication between parking entities, owners, municipalities, the automotive industry, IT developers, services, and map and app providers, plus other stakeholders. The free download includes the latest documents defining the various data elements related to parking, mobility and transportation. See bit.ly/PNJul22APDS EV news The government has closed the plug-in car grant scheme to new orders, to refocus funding towards the main barriers to the electric vehicle (EV) transition, including public charging and supporting the purchase of other road vehicles where the switch to electric requires further development. Grant funding of 300m will now be targeted at extending plug-in grants to boost sales of plug-in taxis, motorcycles, vans and trucks, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Also last month, the requirements for all new buildings in England to have chargepoints came into force. These changes are expected to result in up to 145,000 chargepoints being installed every year. A survey exploring attitudes to charging, and the behaviours and experiences of UK EV drivers has been published by the Department for Transport: bit.ly/PNJul22EVR Parking Code charges await further review Four months after the government announced new private parking charge levels, it has decided to withdraw the levels pending further review. As a result of the challenges of a recent judicial reveiw, the Secretary of State has decided to withdraw the decisions relating to parking charges and the debt-recovery fee in order to carry out a regulatory impact assessment and a consultation on these elements. BPA Approved Operator Scheme members have been advised of the further delay in implementation of the code. Steve Clark, BPA director of operations and business development, welcomed this announcement. We are grateful to some of our members who have exercised their democratic right and made a legal challenge to the decisions made by government, he said. We will be encouraging all of our members, as well as their landowner clients, to respond to the consultation, stressing the need for effective deterrents to stop selfish parking, as well as the reintroduction of debt-recovery fees to ensure that our court system is not swamped. You can read more about the outcome of the judicial review on pages 34-35. Active travel gets a boost Funding worth 200m has been announced for new walking and cycling schemes across England. The governments new executive agency Active Travel England will oversee the delivery of 134 schemes, backed by 161m, across 46 local authorities outside London. The government has also confirmed it will inject 35m to improve the quality, safety and accessibility of the National Cycle Network. Up to 8m is going towards a new programme to accelerate the uptake of e-cycles by offering short- and long-term loans of e-cycles. Read more about walking and cycling trends on pages 38-39. Scotlands new active travel ambassador The Scottish government has appointed Lee Craigie as its new ambassador for active travel. As part of an increase in investment in walking, wheeling and cycling, the Scottish government is reviewing its programmes. Craigie will support the transformation for the next 15 months, focusing on public engagement, access to bikes, and providing an independent perspective on progress. The Minister for Active Travel, Patrick Harvie, confirmed further financial support in 2022, including: doubling the funding for the National Cycle Network to a total of 10.6m; investing more than 52m in the Places for Everyone active travel infrastructure programme; and providing a further 900,000 in funding to deliver e-bike schemes. Read the second delivery plan for Scotlands National Transport Strategy: see bit.ly/PNJul22SDP 8 PN July 2022 pp08-09 National News.indd 8 27/06/2022 12:38