Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 September 2024 to Question 2438, whether her Department has issued guidance on the use of automatic number plate recognition by local authorities as a parking enforcement tool.

The Department does not issue specific guidance pertaining to the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR). ANPR technology is not certified for the purpose of civil enforcement of road traffic contraventions by local authorities.

In contrast to the restrictions placed on local authorities, which cannot use ANPR technology to enforce a parking charge once a vehicle has left the car park, private operators are allowed to use ANPR technology as the sole means of enforcement for parking on controlled land.