THE workplace parking levy took up most of the discussion at First Ministers Questions.
LibDem MSP Mike Rumbles complained about lack of detail in plans for the parking tax.
Alex Rowley of the Labour party said the SNP "should have a degree of honesty about local council cuts" but was shut down by John Swinnie who said his party didn't engage in the budget process.
Green MSP Andy Wightman pointed out that the LibDems backed a parking levy in Scottish Parliament in 2000 while a the same scheme was introduced by a Labour government in England.
At #FMQs I invited @JohnSwinney to comment on the attitudes of Labour & LibDems to the workplace parking levy. Both parties supported it in past & their Councillors are asking for the power but, like the budget, their Holyrood group is saying no. Why? pic.twitter.com/cWnBAEgSob
— Andy Wightman MSP (@andywightman) February 7, 2019
Wightman said: "The powers to introduce a workplace parking levy exist in England. They were introduced by a Labour government and the Nottingham scheme was implemented by a Labour council. The Liberal Democrats supported such powers in the Scottish Parliament in 2000.
"Both these parties appear to be more interested in partisan political point scoring than in working together to tackle pollution, reduce congestion and empower local government."
READ MORE: Gavin Thomson: Parking tax could stop Scotland’s public health crisis
The Nottingham sheme has raised more than £50 million so far that has been re-invested in a comprehensive tram network, a smart card scheme, and cycle infrastructure. It’s been a boost to the local economy as well, with Nottingham outperforming other cities for job creation.
Swinnie, standing in for Nicola Sturgeon who is on a working trip to the US, said: "I think members of the public can be rightly horrified by the way in which the Conservative, Liberal and Labour parties have abdicated their public responsibility to engage constructively on a budget process upon which public services depend.
The deputy First Minister continued: "Mr Wightman and I disagree on quite a number of different issues but I respect Mr Wightman for the fact that he understands that on the 1st of April public services need to be funded, we need to collect taxes, we need to make sure the revenues are available to support our nurses, our hospitals, our schools, our public transport networks, our police services, the whole lot.
"The Green party were the only people prepared to engage constructively in that process so my message to Mr Wightman is he's right, the Labour party, the Tories and the Liberal Democrats should be thoroughly ashamed of their appalling abdication fo responsibility," he added.
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