Local Authority Parking Enforcement

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2014 Westminster Hall

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Rosindell. I am grateful for this opportunity to debate the Select Committee on Transport report “Local Authority Parking Enforcement”, along with the Government response. The topic was chosen following requests from members of the public, who are regularly invited to suggest subjects for the Committee’s inquiries. In January 2013, we launched a call for evidence seeking views on the adequacy of current arrangements for parking enforcement. We published our report in October 2013 and received the Government response last January. Public interest in the subject is strong, and today’s debate is timely.

Parking policy is a crucial element of transport strategy and an important part of transport management. In 2011-12, Aberystwyth spent a year without parking enforcement, which provided an alarming insight into what life would be like in our town and city centres if there were no wardens. NCP stated that in that year, Aberystwyth became

“the worst place in the country to find a parking space”,

and Aberystwyth’s chamber of commerce observed:

“It has been chaotic, especially for people with disabilities or delivery drivers. On balance, shoppers and the public generally will welcome the re-introduction of wardens.”

Although parking policy is important in its own right, it should be integrated with broader transport planning. Local authorities must balance the needs of different road users according to local circumstances, and parking enforcement is one tool to achieve that objective. It must be linked with providing good public transport. Joined-up transport planning involves striking a balance between tackling congestion and maintaining the accessibility of town and city centres. Particular concerns have been raised about the impact of parking policies on local shopping. Innovative measures to address it could include allowing free parking for limited times at certain times of the day, providing discount vouchers for customers who pay for parking and enabling local businesses to validate parking tickets so that customers get some money off parking. Those are just some of the suggestions that the Committee made in addressing the issue.

The response to our inquiry highlighted a deep rooted public perception—it is not necessarily the reality—that parking enforcement is used as a cash cow by local authorities. Taken together, in 2012-13, local authorities in England made a surplus of £594 million from parking activities. However, those surpluses were not evenly distributed. Seven of the 10 highest surpluses were in London; the largest profit, £39.7 million, was in Westminster. There are also more than 50 local authorities that operate parking services at a loss. Using parking charges and fines for the express purpose of raising revenue is neither acceptable nor legal. Any surplus created must be applied to transport purposes, which can include traffic management or investing in public transport.

How can the issue be addressed? First, more transparency is required. All local authorities should issue annual reports showing income from both parking charges and penalties, along with how any surpluses were applied. In addition, local authorities should show the criteria that they use in assessing their penalty charge system. There is sometimes a suspicion that targets for penalty charge notices have been set in order to maximise income. In response to our recommendations, the Government response stated:

“The Government supports greater transparency in local authority parking accounts. Local authorities should collect and publish data on revenue collected”

from parking meters and enforcement notices.

The Department added:

“The revised code of transparency for local government states that local authorities must place a link on their website”

to data showing

“revenue collected from on-street and off-street parking and parking enforcement notices.”

Is the Minister confident that all local authorities are now following the revised code of transparency for local government by providing that link?

In addition to our recommendations on transparency, we made two proposals on enforcement. First, we concluded that parking enforcement should attempt to minimise the number of penalty charge notices issued to motorists who have made honest mistakes, for example due to unclear signage. We asked local authorities to pay special attention to people who have simply made a mistake. In addition, we recommended changes. We suggested that the Department for Transport statutory guidance should stipulate that local authorities should implement a five-minute grace period after the expiry of paid-for time. The Government described this proposal as “worthy of consideration” and included it in the consultation paper on local authority parking.

The consultation closed on 14 February. I hope that the Minister will update Members on the consultation response to our recommendation of a five-minute grace period and set out how he intends to proceed in that regard. The Committee also called for the end of the routine use of CCTV to impose fines. The blanket use of CCTV does not always show the full picture. For example, it does not always show whether a vehicle is being loaded or whether a motorist has a permit to park where they have stopped.

The Committee also recommended significant changes on penalty charge discounts. Currently, fines paid within the first 14 days receive a 50% discount. If a motorist appeals and loses the appeal, there is no discount. We proposed a 25% discount for motorists who pay within seven days of losing an appeal to a tribunal. In the Government response, the Department stated that the suggestion was “worth wider consideration” and included it in the local parking enforcement consultation. Will the Minister update Members on the consultation response to our recommendation of a 25% discount and set out how he intends to take the matter forward?

The Committee noted that some local authority parking enforcement regimes effectively force some companies required to make deliveries at given times to incur penalty charge notices that can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, simply for operating their businesses. We even heard of a millionaires’ club of companies that accept that they will have to pay more than £1 million a year in charges due to penalty charge notices that they cannot avoid. We concluded that that is unacceptable and asked the Government to convene a round table discussion with road hauliers and local authorities to identify ways to address the problem. In response, the Government stated:

“We agree that a round table discussion might be useful and DFT will talk to local authorities and the freight industry to see how this might be organised.”

Again, will the Minister update us on the progress in setting up such a discussion, and does he have any other proposals for alleviating that particular burden on business?

Finally, I would like to discuss an outstanding issue: the enforcement of penalty charges on non-UK vehicles. We recommended that

“the Government initiate discussions at a European level on the feasibility of introducing EU-wide powers for the cross-border enforcement of parking penalty charges”.

The Department responded by saying that

“many Member States have reservations about data sharing and the general security of individual citizen’s data across international borders for non-criminal contraventions.”

The UK is apparently one of those member states. For example, the Government response highlighted that it

“would not opt in to a European Directive facilitating cross-border enforcement in the field of road safety…which would not be in the UK’s interests.”

I am somewhat puzzled by that. Does the Minister believe that cross-border enforcement of parking charges is a desirable objective? What discussions have taken place at an EU level? What are the Government’s objections to proceeding? If there is no action at a European level or if the UK will not be part of any action that other European countries are proposing to be involved in, is it possible to achieve the same objective without engaging with other European countries?

Parking policy will always arouse strong emotions. Motorists faced with what is perceived to be unduly high charges or unfair penalties will feel unjustly treated. However, parking management is required to reconcile the competing demands of different road users and to prevent congestion. I hope that the report and its recommendations contribute to making parking policies fair to all.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mrs Ellman]

We have had a good, informed debate, helped by the experience of my hon. Friends who have contributed greatly to the discussion. I thank the Minister for his constructive responses. These are important issues that affect people every day and there are not always simple answers. I look forward to hearing more about the Department’s position and about what progress can be made on these recommendations in this important area.

[Andrew Rosindell (in the Chair)]

That concludes the debate on local authority parking enforcement. The next debate, on access to ports, cannot begin until the Minister has arrived, so regrettably, I have to suspend the sitting. I point out to officials from the Department for Transport that Ministers should be here for the start of a debate. That this has happened is irregular, and I ask for the matter to be taken up with those who organise the Minister’s diary.