An SNP councillor has accused the council leader of being “clueless” about cash which has not been collected from Low Emission Zone (LEZ) fines due to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) inaccuracies.
According to a council report, the city has lost out on more than £800,000 from fines. These are due by drivers of vehicles entering the city’s low emission zone with a vehicle which did not comply with regulations during its first nine months.
This amounts to almost half of its possible LEZ income between June 2024 and March 2025 and was caused by incorrect DVLA recordkeeping.
SNP councillor, Danny Aston, asked the Council Leader, Jane Meagher, at a full council meeting on Thursday if she would write to the UK transport secretary to get the sum reimbursed.
While responding, Cllr Meagher appeared unaware of the revenue the city had missed out on.
She said: “[I have no] intention of writing about something which I think might be based on a false premise.”
SNP councillor Danny Aston countered that the council leader seemed to be “clueless” on the amount of cash lost, and that the fact she was unaware of it was “astonishing”.
The council’s transport convener told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, that the city is “proud” of the progress made since LEZ enforcement began.
But Cllr Stephen Jenkinson also acknowledged that there had been issues with vehicles being incorrectly registered with the DVLA
He said that there had been a small number of drivers avoiding paying fines issued by the council.
Only vehicles which meet certain emissions standards, along with a limited number of other exempted vehicles, are allowed to enter the LEZ.
More than one in three non-compliant and non-exempt vehicles entering the zone could not be charged at all.
This was due to vehicle keeper data which was either non-existent or incorrect lodged with the DVLA, and due to vehicles which were found to be compliant after being flagged by automated systems.
The Low Emission Zone Annual Report just published states that the city brought in £1,050,780 from penalty charges during the first months of the scheme being operational from June 2024 to March 2025. The cost of operating the scheme since 2018 amounts to £2.9 million, most of which was covered by Scottish Government grants.
And the council reported that while around 70% of penalty charge notices issued for LEZ violations had been paid, the council had begun debt recovery operations for unpaid fees.
After payments to operate the scheme, the council has earned almost £800,000 to invest in clean air and other projects.
This will include the council’s long-delayed 7-7-7 pilot bus lane scheme with bus lanes operating from 7am to 7pm each day, seven days per week.
Lothian Buses’ 44 route is to be the first route on which the scheme will be tried out, and that is expected to run by the end of this month.
In the report almost 13,000 cases were in the “debt recovery system”, a further 9,702 already in the hands of Sheriff Officers. First cases were sent to Sheriff Officers in May 2025 and the council has started to ingather some of the fines in this way.
A total of 3,074 challenges to PCNs issued related to the LEZ were made, with 2,773 charges being reversed.
The main reasons for fines being cancelled included situations where vehicles had a blue badge but drivers had not applied for an exemption, and those where DVLA information about the vehicle was wrong.
Other reasons included vehicles being forced into the LEZ due to roadworks, and events where the council elected to not pursue the debt.
Cllr Aston said: “It’s astonishing that the Council Leader seemed to be completely clueless on what happened to £800,000.
“Edinburgh is out of pocket for more than £800,000 due to the sloppiness and incompetence of a UK government agency. So it’s only right that the UK government reimburses Edinburgh for this.”
Cllr Jenkinson said: “There are a low number of unpaid LEZ fines.
“This can be for a number of reasons, including from drivers whose vehicles are incorrectly registered with the DVLA, making it more challenging to collect fines, and a low number deliberately evading payment.
“PCNs for LEZ contraventions are set out in national legislation, and we actively pursue unpaid fines using all appropriate measures. Any unpaid debt is passed on to sheriff officers.”
He also said 77% of PCNs for breaches of the LEZ were paid on time at time of publication, but a council spokesperson said that included data which was not covered by the report which only covered the period from June 2024 to March 2025.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
