£35m in parking fines written off

BBC News
27th June 06

Nearly £35m worth of unpaid parking tickets served to motorists in central London have been written off.
A Westminster Council report said it was impossible to trace all drivers and so it wanted to cancel tickets that were old and unlikely to be recovered.
Opposition Labour leader councillor Paul Dimoldenberg said those getting away with not paying fines were bringing the system into disrepute.
Penalty charges in Westminster cost £100, or £50 if paid within 14 days.
A spokesman for Westminster Council said:"Over the last seven years the council has issued some 800,000 penalty charge notices each year."
'Inefficient system'
He said of those, 15% went unpaid because they relied on information from the DVLA to track down drivers.
He added: "Although these sums have now been written off, this does not prevent the council from still seeking to recover the outstanding money."
Councillor Dimoldenberg said the parking system was inefficient and needed to be reviewed.
"It's not just about unpaid parking tickets but to see if the system can be improved for motorists."
He added the money that should have been recovered could have been invested in transport improvements or used to bring down council tax bills - band D households currently pay £659 a year.