Scotland’s councils have been urged to auction the private licence plates on their provosts’ and lord provosts’ chauffeur-driven cars and use the millions raised to help fund front-line services.
Checks on nine Scottish councils show they own personalised number plates together worth at least £3 million and, with 32 councils in all, the total is certain to be much higher.
Critics say the private plates are a luxury the public sector can no longer afford and the cash would be better spent on hard-pressed communities.
Edinburgh has no fewer than three private plates S0, S10 and SS10 likely to be worth at least £1.5m at auction.
Perth and Kinross Council insists its ES 1 plate worth at least £150,000 is part of their “regalia” and cannot be sold.
Dundee’s TS1 plate is worth a similar amount.
Cameron Buchanan, spokesman for the Scottish Conservative, said: “Council chiefs should be looking at tightening their belts after the SNP’s devastating budget announcement of more cuts to local government.”
Andy Wightman, local government spokesman for the Scottish Greens and MSP candidate for Lothian, said: “For Edinburgh to still be holding on to three licence plates worth £1.5m suggests an administration that has lost its way. This money would be far better deployed to support services such as schools and social care.”
Eben Wilson, director of TaxpayerScotland, said: “All councils need to find resources wherever they can. While special number plates like these can be seen as community assets, they suggest an attitude of grandness that is really rather old-fashioned today.”
West Lothian sold their private plate ASX 1, worth £7,000 after criticism, admitting it was no longer a priority.
But other councils show little sign of bowing to the pressure. Edinburgh Lord Provost Donald Wilson compared their licence plates with museum artefacts.
He said: “The fact remains that these registration plates are part of the capital’s history. They were a gift to the city, and are unique as they include the first registration plate ever issued in Scotland.”
A spokeswoman for Perth and Kinross Council said: “There is a public expectation of a sense of occasion and civic pride. The ES1 number plate has been displayed on the council’s civic car since 1954. It is considered part of the civic regalia.”
A Dundee City Council spokeswoman said: “There are no plans to sell the registration plate.”