Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75870 on Parking: Pedestrian Areas, what the terms of reference are for the new research on pavement parking; what the budget is; and how the research contract will be awarded.

The Terms of Reference are yet to be drafted, however, we have commissioned the design stage of a study to update and strengthen our evidence base on the extent and impact of pavement parking. The purpose of the research will be to understand not only where and how pavement parking occurs but how it affects people’s lives, and particularly the lives of vulnerable road users. This research will enable the Department to evaluate the impact of any future changes to pavement parking policies. The design stage has been awarded to Frontier Economics and SYSTRA under an existing call-off contract, with agreed framework rates (under Public Contracts Regulations 2015). The budget is still being agreed. Budget and commissioning routes for further stages of the study cannot be specified at this stage.