Adopting Pilgrim
parking plan
would spare
council's blushes

We received a rapid response to Tuesday's blog  about Boston Borough Council’s parking "strategy” – which has at its core the idea that drivers ultimately foot the bill for anything that is done, and may even end up paying to park outside their own houses.
An e-mail reminded us: “Whilst the council is busy increasing cost of parking, reducing length of stay, introducing permits, increasing the cost of permits, charging more when demand is at its highest, charging blue badge holders and introducing robust measures to police these plans, it is worth remembering that council staff can still have their free parking permits!"
To be honest, the issue of free parking for staff and councillors was something that had slipped our mind – which was perhaps the general idea.
It first came into the spotlight when the council was debating increasing overall fees and charging blue badge holders to park – a move that would generate more than £160,000 in a full year.
And yet, for a council that claims to be so hard up, there was no plan to with withdraw the free parking perk for West Street that costs around £100,000 a year.
In fact the cause was championed by two council cabinet members.
Boston Town Centre portfolio holder Derek Richmond was quoted as saying that the council  had been let off “as it was thought they had faced enough hardship recently, accepting a two year pay freeze and dealing with other restrictions.”
Meanwhile, Councillor Raymond Singleton-McGuire – who drew up this year’s budget – added: “They have taken a hit and they have been restricted.”
This, of course, conveniently overlooked the fact that in this economic crisis we have all “taken a hit.” Many people have lost their jobs, wages in many other areas have been frozen as well - so Boston Borough Council is by no means unique.
Since that debate, workers at Boston’s Pilgrim Hospital have been told that they will have to pay for parking from the beginning of next month.
Let’s not forget that many of these people are poorly paid, and have also “taken a hit” with a two-year pay freeze for staff earning more than £21,000 a year.
Parking charges will vary from £115 a year for lower paid staff to £240 for senior grades.
In Boston, a year’s parking season ticket costs £328.
However, the way that United Lincolnshire Hospitals will administer the scheme is through what is called  “Salary Sacrifice, ” which sees a reduction in pay to the tune of the parking charge – and so has the benefit of  reducing tax, national insurance and pension payments … which would mean savings of between 30% and 50%, depending on pay grades.
If such a scheme were to be adopted by Boston Borough Council, staff would pay for their parking - at a reduced rate which would be affordable and fair.
The money raised by the scheme at the hospital will provide for further investment – something which is badly needed in Boston's car parks  – which the council reckons need around £400,000 to bring to a decent standard.
A sensible charge for staff and councillors would go a long way towards offsetting this bill.
Whilst senior Tory figures at the council have tried long and hard to justify the free parking scheme, we would remind them that  - in the words of David Cameron - we are supposed to be “in this together” ...  and to continue this perk is a denial of this concept.
There is also a moral aspect to this,  because it is wrong for an organisation which sets the charges to exclude its own people just because it can  - whilst forcing the rest of us to stump up.
According to the council, free parking “is part of the pay and conditions agreement with staff that they are provided with car parking to carry out their work.”
This suggests that it applies to staff who need to use their vehicles during working hours – despite the fact that the council leases cars for that purpose.
We are quite sure that many of those who park for nothing lock their cars at 8-45am and don’t unlock them again until they head for home. This is not using your car to carry out your work.
Public money is being lost here, and the current economic climate is not one where it can be justifiable to give it away.

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Our former blog is archived at: http://bostoneyelincolnshire.blogspot.com