Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what monitoring her Department undertakes of local authority decisions to transfer control of car parks to private entities; and whether those decisions are subject to central (a) oversight and (b) audit.

Local authorities are empowered by law to decide on appropriate parking arrangements, within the legal framework provided by the Traffic Management Act 2004 which requires Local Authorities to ensure local parking policies are proportionate, support town centre prosperity, and ensure traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities

The Secretary of State does not monitor or audit these decisions which are best made locally.