Appearing today before the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, the Edinburgh Festivals call for the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government to look again at the inclusion of residents’ personal primary homes in the planned short term lets legislation.
The Festivals welcome plans by the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government to extend the licensing date for existing hosts, as a valuable opportunity to reconsider how the national framework is being interpreted across the country, and to adjust provisions at the margins to avoid unintended consequences.
Commenting ahead of her Committee appearance, Julia Amour, Director of Festivals Edinburgh said: “Edinburgh’s Festivals are frustrated at the extent of plans to regulate brief stays in residents’ personal primary homes – compared to commercial secondary lets where we understand the need for regulation – especially when the regulatory plans have no apparent regard to the collection of evidence or the assessment of impact.”
Speaking to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee this morning, Ms Amour will ask Committee members to note the following:
Personal primary letting (home-sharing or home-letting) is being conflated with the more complex area of commercial secondary letting whereas it needs to be treated differently
Personal primary letting has no effect on the current housing crisis, given that it is simply individuals using their own homes rather than purchasing additional properties
Personal primary letting is being treated similarly to commercial lets, in terms of regulations and costs, having an effect on income opportunities for residents in their own homes during a cost of living crisis
The national regulation scheme excludes certain categories (eg visiting homestay students where arrangements have been approved by an educational institution) and so why not others (eg visiting homestay event workers)
The Committee will also be asked to note that although the Cabinet Secretary has said temporary exemptions of up to six weeks do not need to comply with mandatory and additional licence conditions, the City of Edinburgh Council has decided to apply many such conditions to temporary exemptions for primary letting.
Ms Armour said: “These local interpretations highlight that the provision in the framework for local temporary exemptions is not achieving its intended purpose, and we now have an opportunity to look at this again and apply an exclusion at national level.
“The Edinburgh Festivals are concerned that these developments will be a serious disincentive to city residents who want to open their own homes to guests for a brief period.
“Without the use of primary home lets, the Festivals estimate that 27% of people in the city for August peak season would not be able to find accommodation, with such lets of particular importance to the workers, artists and performers who transform Edinburgh into the world-leading festival city.
“The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society estimates a third of their programme could be lost in 2024. This contraction would obviously have a negative impact on the 4,000+ jobs and over £200m in direct additional economic impact which the Festivals bring, as well as weakening the wider leisure and visitor economy employing 44,000 in Edinburgh alone.”
Ms Amour will conclude: “We ask the Committee to recommend that Scottish Government consider excluding primary residential letting activity (home-sharing and home-letting) for major festivals and events from the proposed legislation, in the knowledge that such activity has no effect on the housing crisis in the city and will safeguard the major economic, cultural and social opportunities that the festivals provide to city residents and to Scotland as a whole.”
Low Emission Zones (LEZs) to protect public health and improve air quality have now been formally introduced across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen.
Plans have been agreed at the local authority level and have now also been approved by Scottish Ministers, as required in legislation through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019.
With the shape and scope of LEZs now agreed across the four cities through this introduction, local grace periods until enforcement commences have now begun.
In Glasgow, the LEZ already applies to buses. For other vehicle types, enforcement commences on 1 June 2023 (1 June 2024 for residents within the zone)
Edinburgh will commence enforcement TODAY 1 June 2024
Dundee will commence enforcement on 30 May 2024
Aberdeen will commence enforcement on 1 June 2024
LEZs set an emissions limit for certain road spaces, restricting access for the most polluting vehicles to improve air quality. This helps protect public health within our towns and cities, making them more attractive places in which to live, work and to visit. LEZs also encourage people to think about leaving the car at home and to consider public transport or active travel – supporting climate action by helping to meet Scotland’s world leading commitment to reduce car kilometres travelled by 20% by 2030.
Vehicles that do not meet the emission standards set for a Low Emission Zone will not be able to drive within the zone. A penalty charge will be payable by the registered keeper of a vehicle when a non-compliant vehicle enters the LEZ.
The minimum emission standards for vehicles permitted within the four LEZs are:
Euro 4 for petrol cars and vans (generally vehicles registered from January 2006)
Euro 6 for diesel cars and vans (generally vehicles registered from September 2015)
A number of vehicles are exempt from LEZ requirements, including any vehicle driven by a blue badge holder. Funding remains available to help people and businesses that need it most to comply with Low Emission Zones. Full information is available at www.lowemissionzones.scot
The introduction of Scotland’s LEZs marks the completion of the Scottish Government’s landmark Programme for Government commitment.
Welcoming the introduction, Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth said: “The introduction of Low Emission Zones is a truly significant public health moment for Scotland. Our air quality is generally good – but for too long air pollution has exceeded legal limits for health in our city centres as a consequence of unrestricted vehicle emissions.
“We have a moral responsibility to act. Air pollution often disproportionally impacts those with the least in our society. It causes the most damage to the youngest, the oldest and those with pre-existing medical conditions.
“LEZs are the biggest change we’ve ever seen in how vehicles will access our cities – and they need to be, in order to best protect public health and improve air quality.
“With a year to go until the earliest point of enforcement in Glasgow and two years to go until enforcement in Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen, I encourage everyone to visit www.lowemissionzones.scot to find out more about the schemes, including the Scottish Government funding on offer.”
Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, the City of Edinburgh Council said:“By introducing an LEZ, Edinburgh is joining cities right across the UK in working towards a healthier environment and a better quality of life for everyone. We all have the right to breathe clean air and it’s our responsibility to tackle air pollution to protect the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable members of society.
“The LEZ will restrict the most polluting vehicles from entering the boundary, reducing harmful traffic-related nitrogen oxide emissions by a predicted 55% in the zone.
“The LEZ is one of a number of tools to reduce harmful emissions and is being delivered alongside a range of projects to support sustainable travel, including Edinburgh City Centre Transformation, Trams to Newhaven and City Centre West to East Link. Together, these will help achieve our vision of a clean, green and net zero European Capital.”
Joseph Carter, Head of Devolved Nations at Asthma+Lung UK said:“Air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to public health. It is causing new lung conditions like lung cancer and worsening existing ones. With 1 in 5 Scots developing a lung conditions like asthma and COPD in their lifetime, for them, it can trigger life-threatening asthma attacks and exacerbations.
“Children’s lungs are also more susceptible to air pollution as they are still growing, and they also breathe faster than adults. As they grow, toxic air can stunt the growth of their lungs, making them less resilient into adulthood and placing them at greater risk of lung disease in the future.
“More than 70,000 children have asthma in Scotland and for them, peaks in toxic air can put them at risk of a potentially life-threatening attack.
“The gradual roll out of Low Emission Zones is going to be a huge step forward to start tackling this major health problem. Starting in Glasgow in 2018 and then extended to our core cities with the Transport Act 2019, LEZs are one of the most effective way of reducing pollution.”
John Bynorth, who leads Scotland’s Clean Air Day for Environmental Protection Scotland said:“We welcome the milestone introduction of LEZs to Scotland’s four main cities as it will lead to vast improvements in air quality in the city centres where the zones operate.
“Outwith the LEZs, we would also expect to see potential benefits to the surrounding areas as people consider their travel options and consider cycling or walking instead of taking the car.
“This will lead to improvements in the health of people who live, work and go to school in these cities and make them cleaner and more sustainable as they strive to achieve net-zero climate change targets in the coming years.”
Neil Leckie, Senior Programme Manager at the Energy Saving Trust said:“The expansion of Low Emission Zones in Scotland’s major cities will play a key role in improving air quality and in the transition to a net zero carbon society.
“The zones will encourage the use of low carbon transport and active travel, and available funding to prepare for the changes will support the individuals and businesses who need it most – including additional support for taxi drivers.
“We look forward to continuing to work closely with Transport Scotland to shape the future of low carbon cities and sustainable travel in Scotland as part of our commitment to address climate change.”
Using the powers under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 (and accompanying regulations), local authorities will introduce, operate and enforce their LEZ schemes using Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras. All four cities propose schemes operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Penalty charges are also consistent across the four cities. For non-compliant vehicles found to have been driven within the zone the initial penalty is set at £60, with a subsequent doubling for each contravention, capped at £480 for cars and light good vehicles, and £960 for bus and HGV. The penalty charge is reduced by 50% if paid within 14 days. Where there are no further contraventions detected within the 90 days following a previous contravention, the penalty is reset to £60.
There are a limited number of specific vehicles that are exempt from LEZ regulations as follows:
· Police · Ambulance · Scottish Fire and Rescue · Her Majesty’s Coastguard · Military vehicles · Vehicles for disabled persons (including blue badge holders) · Historic vehicles · Showman’s vehicles
Motorbikes and mopeds are also not within the scope of Scotland’s LEZs.
The Scottish Government is committed to helping those who will have most difficulty preparing for the introduction of LEZs across the four cities.
Our LEZ support fund offers three main packages of funding for households, micro-businesses, and a separate retrofit fund including support for taxi drivers.
Having been fully subscribed in 2021/22, funding is again available in 2022. Information is available on the Energy Saving Trust website.
For bus operators, a fourth round of BEAR funding has awarded £6.2 million to 20 operators to retrofit a further 379 buses and coaches in 2022. Between 2018-2021 the BEAR Phases 1, 2 and 3 awarded funding grants of £12.4 million to Scottish bus and coach operators to upgrade 762 vehicles to the latest Euro VI emission standard to help reduce pollution levels. This is in addition to funding for new zero emission buses.
The recommendations follow a month-long Statutory Notice Period in February, during which 26 objections and one note of support were received. After full analysis of the objections, officers advised there is no justification for changes to the scheme, though have affirmed that work will continue apace to ensure any potential impacts from the scheme are mitigated.
Edinburgh’s city centre LEZ would apply to all motor vehicles, except motorcycles and mopeds, with a two-year grace period and allowing certain exemptions, including for blue badge holders and emergency vehicles.
Once the LEZ is in place, vehicles must meet a minimum emissions standard to enter the zone freely, and those that don’t will be considered non-compliant and subject to penalties.
Councillor Lesley Macinnes, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “Being able to breathe clean air is a right we all deserve, and by introducing a Low Emission Zone in the city centre we want to tackle air pollution in one of the most densely-populated parts of Edinburgh.
“Our officers have carried out a great deal of planning, modelling and analysis, in line with national frameworks, to develop our proposals. They have been able to draw on this evidence in response to objections received during the Statutory Notice Period. I’m confident that the proposed scheme will deliver significant benefits to quality of life in our city.”
Councillor Karen Doran, Transport and Environment Vice Convener, said:“Significant work carried out to assess this scheme’s impact on carbon emissions, as well as the proposed boundaries and grace period, demonstrates that these proposals are appropriate for the city.
“The LEZ, alongside a range of ambitious projects to improve air quality, will encourage more sustainable transport and support active travel, and is key to achieving cleaner air for everyone.”
In general, objections to the scheme focused on the size and location of the boundary, the impacts of traffic displacement and the potential financial challenges of complying. Other objections included concerns around exemptions, the effects on individuals and businesses and the evidence base for the scheme.
Thursday’s report addresses objections by theme. Amongst the reasoning for proceeding with the current scheme is the significant modelling and analysis carried out under the National Modelling Framework and Options Appraisal work undertaken in accordance with the National Low Emission Framework.
This research demonstrates the rationale for the proposed boundary and the short-lived impact on traffic at its periphery. A Network Management Strategy is also being developed to counter any traffic displacement.
This included funding to mitigate impacts for those most in need, in the context of Covid recovery. Some objections related to national exemptions, though the report confirms that these are prescribed in the regulations and the Council has no powers to amend them.
With regard to local exemptions, it is proposed that these are only issued on a case-by-case basis and in exceptional circumstances. It is recommended that a LEZ Local Exemption Advisory Panel (LEZ-LEAP) is established to consider requests for local time-limited exemptions.
In conclusion, the report summarises the evidence for introducing the scheme and refers to previous reporting which has been presented to Committee to support this.
Throughout the development of an LEZ for Edinburgh, consultation, engagement and scientific evidence, following national frameworks, has highlighted both why we need cleaner air and how to bring this about for Edinburgh’s requirements, while supporting the city’s Covid recovery.
A full breakdown of objections and responses is available as an appendix to the report.
‘It is essential that lifeline services and critical national infrastructure are maintained‘ – FM NICOLA STURGEON
Changes are being made to self-isolation rules for close contacts of COVID cases to allow essential staff in critical roles to return to work to maintain lifeline services and critical national infrastructure.
It will be possible to apply to exempt those who work in critical roles where staff shortages are in danger of putting essential services, such as health and social care, transport and the provision of food supplies at risk.
Exemption will only be granted in respect of members of staff who voluntarily agree not to self isolate, and the employers’ duty of care to all their employees must be respected.
Strict conditions will apply – staff must be double-vaccinated and in receipt of their second dose at least two weeks previously. They will also require to have a negative PCR test and to agree to undertake daily lateral flow tests.
Applications may be made via the Scottish Government website.
Exemptions will be made on a temporary basis and last only for as long as there is an immediate risk to business or service continuity.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “It is essential that lifeline services and critical national infrastructure are maintained and we are implementing these changes now – ahead of possible changes to self-isolation rules for close contacts that may apply more generally in future – to ensure staff shortages do not put key services at risk.
“We have seen significant staff shortages in a small number of organisations in recent days and we have worked with them to protect services. Applications for exemptions are being considered from today and we will consider applications as they come in.
“Clinical evidence tells us we can safely and effectively release some critical staff from self-isolation, with appropriate safeguards. However, this is a very limited change at this stage, to be applied on a case by case basis and only where absolutely necessary.
“We will not allow key services to be threatened by staff shortages but equally we must continue to protect public health.”
GMB Scotland: THINK AGAIN!
Responding to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement , GMB Scotland Secretary Louise Gilmour said: “The decision taken by the Scottish Government to introduce exemptions for critical workers from self-isolation guidance has been driven by resource, not by what’s safe for the workers or their families.
“It’s not frontline workers following COVID precautions that threatens to put key services at risk, but the cuts, underfunding and understaffing of these services that means we don’t have the capacity we need to respond in times of crisis.
“Whether it’s in the NHS, our social care sector or in our supermarkets, the story is the same: it’s low paid, exhausted and predominantly women workers who have to make sacrifices as a result of the failure of those at the top to plan and invest.
“GMB is urging the Scottish Government to rethink their decision to gamble with the lives of our key workers, before it’s too late.”
