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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will consider introducing a mandatory grace period for (a) drivers who leave a parking bay within 10 minutes without buying a ticket and (b) drivers who are unable to buy a parking ticket within 10 minutes as result of delays and failures in the relevant ticket delivery system.

The 10-minute grace period at the end of paid for or free parking became mandatory for all Civil Enforcement Authorities in England on 6 April 2015. The grace period only applies at the end of permitted paid-for or free parking at local authority owned or operated car parks. It does not apply at the start of a period of parking, nor in circumstances where the driver was not permitted to park (i.e. outside the hours of permitted operation of on-street parking). There are no plans to mandate councils to give 10 minutes of free parking when parking begins.

Statutory guidance makes clear that if an on-street parking meter or pay-and-display machine is out of order (and parking has not been suspended and clearly indicated as such to motorists), motorists should not be issued with a parking charge notice unless alternative means of payment were available to the driver and clearly indicated

Some private parking operators currently offer 10-minute grace periods. However, the new Private Parking Code of Practice my department is currently reviewing will make it a requirement across the country to provide a fixed consideration period of at least 5 minutes to ensure that motorists have an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the parking terms and conditions and give a minimum 10-minute grace period after their tickets expire.