LEZ — Pending Bus Services and LEZ Hardship Fund award

The Scottish Government, through Transport Scotland and the Energy Saving Trust, operates the Bus Services and LEZ Hardship Fund supporting drivers/small operators in scrapping or retrofitting non-compliant vehicles. Where applicant has been awarded support but had not yet completed scrappage/retrofit at contravention time, council should cancel under reg 8(4)(f) — policy expectation in Scottish Government LEZ Statutory Guidance under s.32. Many councils still issue PCNs to drivers with pending hardship applications — discretionary refusal ground the FtT(Scotland) has been receptive to.

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.

Beat It writes this argument automatically

Scan your PCN — our AI checks if this ground applies to your specific ticket, drafts a properly-cited appeal letter, and submits it to the council on your behalf. Only pay if you win.

Scan my ticket

Sources

LEZ Statutory Guidance, Transport Scotland