Hardship Fund award but work not yet finished
The Scottish Government runs a fund — the Bus Services and LEZ Hardship Fund — that helps drivers and small operators pay to scrap or upgrade vehicles that do not meet the Low Emission Zone rules. If you had already applied for, or been awarded, money from this fund but had not yet had the work completed by the date of your ticket, the council is expected to cancel the penalty. Many councils still issue tickets to people in exactly this position, which is a recognised reason to challenge.
Legal basis
SSI 2021/177 reg 8(4)(f); Scottish Government LEZ Statutory Guidance under s.32
How to identify this in your case
Pending or recently approved Hardship Fund application at contravention date.
Sample appeal wording
Dear [COUNCIL] LEZ Team, Re: PCN [PCN_NUMBER] Representation under reg 8(1); ground reg 8(4)(f). At contravention time I had [pending application / approved award not yet effected] under the Bus Services and LEZ Hardship Fund. Application reference [REF], dated [APPLICATION_DATE]. Award is for [scrappage / retrofit / replacement]; implementation scheduled [DATE]. Scottish Government's LEZ Statutory Guidance under s.32 expects councils to take account of pending hardship support. Imposition of a penalty would frustrate the policy objective. Please cancel. Yours faithfully, [NAME]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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Scan my ticketSources
- LEZ Statutory Guidance, Transport Scotland
Related appeal grounds
- Asking the Council to Let You Pay in Instalments
- Bus lane — emergency / unavoidable (giving way to emergency vehicle)
- Compelling reasons to ask Oxfordshire County Council to cancel the Oxford ZEZ penalty
- Council acted unreasonably — claim your appeal costs
- Drove into low-traffic zone during a genuine emergency
- EV bay overstay — TRO max-stay vs reasonable charging time