Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to tackle private parking companies operating car parks with unclear signage.

The Government has supported a Private Members Bill to improve the situation for motorists in relation to private parking companies. The Parking (Code of Practice) Act received Royal Assent in 2019. This Act will lead to the creation of an independent Code of Practice for private parking companies and a “one-stop-shop” for parking appeals.

The Government has already proposed that the new Code should require clear signage and surface markings, and clear and accessible displays of terms and conditions. This proposal was made in the advisory Code of Practice which has been laid in the House of Commons Library.

On 3 November 2019, the Government announced that the British Standards Institution (BSI) will write the Code in consultation with consumer and industry groups. The Government has committed to developing the final code this year, and will carry out a full public consultation, to give the parking industry, the public and other interested parties the opportunity to have a say.

Until such time as the Act is implemented, private parking companies must be a member of a trade association if they wish to access DVLA data to issue parking charges to vehicle owners. The two parking trade associations have their own codes of practice and appeal procedures to which they expect their members to adhere, including setting minimum standards such as the clarity of signage.