Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps she has taken alongside local authorities to reduce traffic congestion in (a) Slough and (b) Berkshire.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Managing traffic on local roads is the responsibility of the local traffic authority. The Traffic Management Act 2004 places a Network Management Duty on them, which requires them to manage their roads to deliver ‘expeditious movement’ for all traffic including pedestrians, with a view to reducing congestion. They have a wide range of tools already available to them to manage congestion and traffic flows.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the extent to which enforcement authorities, when rejecting challenges to parking contravention notices during the discount period, re-offer the discount for a further 14 days in line with statutory guidance issued under section 87 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold this data as local authorities do not share this with the Department.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his Department’s policy to review the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local Authority parking is governed by legislation including the Traffic Management Act 2004 and related regulations. The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007 has been revoked primarily through The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022.
The 2022 regulations were made under powers in the Traffic Management Act 2004. The Traffic Management Act 2004 places a duty on local authorities to make sure traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities. It gives councils tools to manage parking policies; coordinate street works and enforce some moving traffic offences.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will encourage local authorities to introduce enhanced discretion in the dispensing of civil enforcement penalties.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is for local authorities to decide how they dispense civil enforcement penalties.
Under the Traffic Management Act 2004, local authorities must ensure that their parking policies are proportionate, support town centre prosperity, and reconcile competing demands for space whilst ensuring traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities.
Statutory guidance for local housing authorities on civil penalties for various housing offences can be found here. Revised draft statutory guidance for offences committed from 1 May 2026 following commencement of relevant provisions in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, can be found here.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is the policy of DVLA to provide registered keeper data to enforcement authorities under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, or their commercial intermediaries, who wish to introduce traffic filters.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Regulation 27(1)(a)(iii) of the Vehicle Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 allows the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to provide registered keeper information to local authorities in England and Wales for any purpose connected with its activities as an enforcement authority within the meaning of Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to give councils powers to seize or impound vehicles linked to unpaid penalty charge notices; and what discussions they have had with governments of foreign countries about sharing vehicle data for the payment of those notices.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Local authorities are required under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to ensure that their parking policies are proportionate, support town centre prosperity, and reconcile competing demands for space whilst ensuring traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities.
In line with the need for proportionality, there are no plans to allow councils to seize or impound vehicles for unpaid penalty charges.
However, under the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978,local authorities can remove abandoned vehicles on parking sites. Before a local authority can remove an abandoned vehicle, the authority must first give the landowner 15 days’ notice. This is done so the law protects individuals from having their property removed without due process.
Vehicle keeper data cannot be shared internationally for civil debt enforcement, and as such cannot be traced outside the UK. Where fines are due from foreign registered vehicles that have already left the country, parking companies and local authorities can and do use international debt collection agencies to pursue unpaid charges.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2025 to Question 77640 on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, whether the DVLA has received requests for access to vehicle registration data from (a) Oxfordshire County Council and (b) Oxford City Council in financial year 2024 to 2025 for the purposes of (i) congestion charging, (ii) traffic filters, (iii) zero-emission zone enforcement and (iv) moving traffic offences; and what the statutory authority is for each of those requests.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2024/2025 financial year, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) received requests for registered keeper information from a third-party service provider on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council in relation to zero-emissions zones and moving traffic offences. It is not possible to say if requests specifically relating to traffic filters have been received as they would be included in the category of moving traffic offences. The Oxford congestion charge came into effect in October 2025. Oxford City Council requested information, also through a third-party service provider, for off-street parking management only.
Regulation 27 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 allows the DVLA to make information about UK vehicles and their registered keepers available for use by a local authority for any purpose connected with the investigation of an offence. The same regulation also allows the DVLA to make information available to a local authority in England and Wales when it is acting as an enforcement authority within the meaning of Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. These provisions apply to Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to local government finance statistics collated by his Department, what information he holds on how much local authorities made in profit on (a) on-street and (b) off-street parking in 2024-25.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government holds the below On and Off-Street Parking income data for Local Authorities in England for 2024-25. This is sourced from Revenue Outturn returns submitted by each authority in England.
All monetary values are presented in thousands of pounds (£000)
Type of Parking | Sales, Fees and Charges | Other Income | Total Income |
On-street parking | 1,362,370 | 99,522 | 1,461,892 |
Off-street parking | 842,644 | 33,513 | 876,158 |
Local authorities are empowered to determine their parking arrangements through the Traffic Management Act 2004, which requires them to ensure that parking policies be proportionate, support town centre prosperity, and reconcile competing demands for kerb space whilst ensuring traffic moves freely and quickly on their roads and the roads of nearby authorities.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the enforcement powers of local authorities in respect of (a) parking infringements and (b) obstructions to the public highway.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the importance of effective enforcement in maintaining safe and accessible public highways. Local authorities have a range of powers to enforce parking regulations and address obstructions on the highway under existing legislation, including the Traffic Management Act 2004 and the Highways Act 1980. We do not have plans to extend them.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 64502 on Road Traffic Control: Oxford, whether DVLA will be providing vehicle registration data to (a) Oxfordshire County Council and (b) Oxford City Council to facilitate the penalty notice enforcement of the Oxford traffic filters from 2026.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The law allows the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to make information about UK vehicles and their registered keepers available for use by a local authority for any purpose connected with the investigation of an offence. The law also allows the DVLA to make this information available to a local authority in England and Wales when that local authority is acting as an enforcement authority under Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004. These provisions would apply to Oxfordshire County Council and Oxfordshire City Council in the usual way.