Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Grant Shapps and Ian C. Lucas

Monday 30th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

11. If he will undertake a comparative assessment of parking schemes in town centres.

[The Minister for Housing and Local Government (Grant Shapps)]

The Mary Portas review on the future of our high streets recommended the establishment of a new league table for parking charges. We welcome the review and will publish our response to it in the spring.

[Ian Lucas]

Why do so many parking schemes across the country involve the use of parking machines that do not give change? When the Government make their assessment of the Portas review, will the Minister check to see what proportion of local authorities have parking machines that give change to the hard-pressed people who are suffering in these Tory times?

[Grant Shapps]

First of all, I should point out that planning—and therefore many of the changes to parking regimes—is devolved in Wales and Scotland. Furthermore, one of the first things this Government did was to remove Labour’s incredible instructions to have only upward increases in parking charges and deliberately to build too few parking spaces in both residential areas and high streets throughout the county.