By Charlene Kelly

A FIFE Council employee has won his appeal against a smoking penalty he was issued with five months ago.

Kirkcaldy man Scott Lauder, who works as a technician for Kirkland High School, was spotted smoking in a school minibus by council enforcement officer John Wallace on Standing Stane Road in March.

Mr Lauder received a £30 fine which he decided to contest on the grounds that there was no no- smoking signage in the vehicle he was driving and he had not been adequately informed of the policy by the local authority.

He said that although he knew that as a Fife Council employee he was not permitted to smoke in local authority-owned buildings, he was unaware the policy extended to council-owned vehicles as well.

Pleading his case to councillors at the regulations and licensing committee at Kirkcaldy Town House, Mr Lauder said, “I do agree I was smoking but as there were no signs in the vehicle I did not know I should not be doing it. Had I known this I would certainly not have done it.”

Mr Lauder, who is a union representative, wrote to Fife Council to contest the matter and, after four months passed without a response he assumed the matter had been dropped but was recently visited by officers from Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court issuing him with a fine of £200.

“It has now been five months since this matter arose and due to the council’s inaccuracies I had no time to seek legal representation prior to this meeting,” he said.

Representing himself, Mr Lauder made the point that the council should take some responsibility for not having signage in its vehicles—which is an offence in itself, liable of a £1000 fine.

He was disappointed that the council had misplaced his letter of appeal, which resulted in court officers calling at his door.

He said no children were in the vehicle when he was smoking and that he would never smoke in the vicinity of a child.

Mr Lauder said his line manager was in the vehicle when the offence occurred and she was also unaware of the legislation at that time.

Councillors were informed by the council’s enforcement team that the head teacher of Kirkland High School had written to the department confirming that all staff had received information relating to the no-smoking policy from their line managers and that information was also available on staff notice boards, in employee handbooks and on the council’s information intranet system, FISH.

Committee chairman Gerry McMullan said he sympathised with Mr Lauder’s case and said he would agree that the administration had been “completely lapsed” in its handling of the issue, but also pointed out there were arguments on both sides.

A motion made by Councillor Mike Rumney to refuse the appeal because the penalty had been properly issued was seconded by Councillor Tom Adams.

Councillor Dorothea Morrison said she felt there was “good reason” behind Mr Lauder not paying the fine if there was no signage in the vehicle and her amendment was seconded by Councillor McMullan.

Mr Lauder won his appeal by six votes to four.