East Renfrewshire Council leads the way on road budget

The local authority, which also came fourth across the whole of the UK, spent a total of £9,925,000 in 2017/2018 – up by £28.5 per cent from 2013/14.

That’s the biggest percentage increase in spending of all of Scotland’s councils.

East Renfrewshire Council also spends more money on parking services than it receives in revenue from parking charges and fines.

In 2017/18 the net cost to the council for parking services was £171,000, compared to £64,000 in 2013/14.

According to the research carried out by Confused.com, East Renfrewshire Council is bucking the trend, with the vast majority of local authorities cutting their spending on roads, while bringing in more income by putting up parking charges.

Amanda Stretton, motoring editor at Confused.com, said: “While councils are justified in charging for parking and issuing fines for illegal parking, our research found many motorists are confused about why more isn’t done to improve roads, given the amount of money councils receive in fines.”

An East Renfrewshire Council spokesman said: “Parking enforcements are carried out to keep our roads safe and clear for commuters, promote access to local businesses and prevent misuse of disabled parking bays.

“Income is not the aim of the parking charges, which is why it is free for commuters to park within council-owned car parks.

“The drop in income over the past years is due to the reduction in parking charge notices being issued as a result of conscientious drivers complying with the restrictions in place, which we wholly encourage.”