Parking Scotland Expo Lambeth, rounded off a packed morning with an insightful look into Blue Badge misuse. Councils have a responsibility to implement, administrate and enforce the Blue Badge scheme but its the latter that a lot of councils dont focus on, he said. He explained that, as of 31 March 2021, 238,970 (4.8 per cent) of the Scottish population was entitled to a Blue Badge, but the numbers are rising so it is imperative for councils to have an anti-fraud policy in place that includes a section on Blue Badge fraud. The failure to address this undermines the whole disabled parking system, as well as having a huge impact on parking income, he said. Scottish councils face a 700m funding gap as they prepare to set their budgets for the coming financial year. By not addressing Blue Badge fraud, you are not helping your council to address this gap. Gallagher then offered some advice on tackling Blue Badge misuse, such as making sure all parking wardens have access to the free Department for Transports National Blue Badge Database, which lists every single Blue Badge issued and also holds additional information such as details of lost, cancelled or stolen badges. There are occasions where prosecution is needed but prevention is most cost effective, so look at where you are most vulnerable to fraud, Gallagher advised. For example, in Lambeth many badges reported as lost in the post were being used. Now we send badges by recorded delivery. Last year, only four were reported as lost in the post, compared with 500 the year before, so we have eliminated that issue. Gallagher also encouraged councils in Scotland to join others across the UK by taking part in the next National Blue Badge Day of Action, which will take place on Friday 24 May 2024. He is also running the next online Parking Fraud Forum, on Wednesday 15 November 2023.1 EV deep dive Aside from a brief canter through the needs of moving to digital traffic regulation orders, led by Peter Lowe of RTA Associates, the afternoon sessions focused mainly on electric vehicle charging infrastructure.2 Iain MacLeod from Energy Saving Trust (EST), spoke about Scotlands low-carbon transition. With the requirement for all new cars to be zero emission at the exhaust pipe by 2035, he asked what it will take to enable this. He explained more about the different charging options available and the importance of matching chargepoint types to location and user needs. Full electrification will require 60,000 chargepoints. We have about 4,000 now, so we need about a 15-fold increase over the next 15-25 years, he said. Transport Scotland commissioned the EST to provide support to those interested in installing EV infrastructure, the result of which is the EV Infrastructure Guide.3 The session prompted discussion with the audience, including on car park structures and weights of cars, particularly EVs, and the benefits and disadvantages of on-street and off-street charging locations. Electrification of vehicles is important but only gets us so far. We also need to look at how infrastructure can help to broaden behaviour shift in travel habits, MacLeod concluded. Metric offered an insight into providing EV charging hubs as a way to encourage use of under-used car parks. Neil Swanson, director of EVA Scotland wrapped up the EV sessions by considering charging behaviours, longevity and reliability of electric vehicles compared to nonelectric, and the fund and grants available for installing EV charging infrastructure. Russell summed up the event: It has been a great day. I am sure you will agree it has provided lots of food for thought, and ideas for how we can continue to evolve as a sector. 1. For more on the 2023 Blue Badge Day of Action, see Julys Parking News bit.ly/PNOct23BB To find out more about the 2024 event or the Parking Fraud Forum, please email TGallagher@lambeth.gov.uk 2. F or more on TROs, see Septembers Parking News bit.ly/PNOct23TRO 3. See Evinfrastructureguide.com The EST also runs EV infrastructure forums for anyone interested in EV infrastructure in Scotland: Email iain.macleod@est.org.uk for details. Gold sponsor: Metric Silver sponsor: RingGo 20 PN Oct 2023 pp18-21 Scotland Expo.indd 20 25/09/2023 12:51