Time to sort out parking fines mess
MPs say motorists are being let down by a flawed system that is open to revenue-raising abuse
Yorkshire Post
William Green
Political Correspondent
CAR parking fines were yesterday branded a "mess" by MPs because motorists in the UK are being let down as huge sums of cash are raked in under the current system.
The Commons Transport Committee said there were "serious flaws", and urged the Government to lead efforts to overhaul a system where illegal parking is widespread, and costing London £270m alone in delays and accidents a year.
It added too few councils were publishing figures which fuelled suspicions of revenue-raising – with parking activities in England raising a £439m surplus in 2003/04, according to a new committee report into parking.
The report came as the Liberal Democrats unveiled research claiming England's parking charges have risen by 82 per cent since Labour came to power.
The party said charges were up six per cent in the last year with the nation's motorists charged almost £1.2bn a year.
The Transport Committee said a UK-wide system of decriminalised parking enforcement – done by town halls – should replace the system of police and councils working in different areas.
Committee chairman Gwyneth Dunwoody said: "Our present parking system is, frankly, a mess. If a motorist parks illegally on one street they are branded a criminal and will be dealt with by the police and criminal courts.
"On another street they will have committed a civil infringement and will be processed by the local authority. It is high time to move to a single system of parking enforcement."
She said standards had to improve and condemned enforcement contracts with incentive regimes based on the number of tickets issued as "utterly misguided".
The MPs warned change was needed as problems in council administration was causing anger, wasting resources and bringing the system into disrepute – highlighted by 20 per cent of the 7.1 million penalty charge notices issued in 2003 being cancelled.
Many councils fail to make clear how to challenge fines or re-offer a 14-day payment discount after an appeal has ended, or ensure motorists are aware of their ultimate right to appeal to the independent national parking adjudication service.
Problems existed with regulations and signs, including lines on the road, while performance varied too much with some authorities contesting six per cent of appeals but others fighting 56 per cent.
MPs voiced concern about poor training and pay for parking attendants, a lack of outside monitoring, and too little attention paid to the potential of well-managed parking strategies to contribute to traffic management.
And they called for proportionate penalties distinguishing between resting on double yellow lines and overstaying in car parking spaces. They also asked the Government to examine if councils are breaking human rights laws by towing illegally parked vehicles away.
Ministers should also consider restricting wheel clamping to persistent offenders and unregistered vehicles, while its use on private land should be governed in the same was as public on-street clamping to stamp out abuses.
The report also said the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) should not release information to parties whose activities would damage the parking system, such as so-called cowboy clampers.
The RAC Foundation welcomed the report, saying: "Over-zealous enforcement, confusing signs and lines, and the belief that councils are using parking fines to raise revenue rather than keep the traffic moving should become nothing but bad memories if the Government takes this report seriously."
The AA Motoring Trust said drivers, many wrongly ticketed, should be compensated by councils that string out fine appeals before deciding against contesting them.
Yorkshire Post
William Green
Political Correspondent
CAR parking fines were yesterday branded a "mess" by MPs because motorists in the UK are being let down as huge sums of cash are raked in under the current system.
The Commons Transport Committee said there were "serious flaws", and urged the Government to lead efforts to overhaul a system where illegal parking is widespread, and costing London £270m alone in delays and accidents a year.
It added too few councils were publishing figures which fuelled suspicions of revenue-raising – with parking activities in England raising a £439m surplus in 2003/04, according to a new committee report into parking.
The report came as the Liberal Democrats unveiled research claiming England's parking charges have risen by 82 per cent since Labour came to power.
The party said charges were up six per cent in the last year with the nation's motorists charged almost £1.2bn a year.
The Transport Committee said a UK-wide system of decriminalised parking enforcement – done by town halls – should replace the system of police and councils working in different areas.
Committee chairman Gwyneth Dunwoody said: "Our present parking system is, frankly, a mess. If a motorist parks illegally on one street they are branded a criminal and will be dealt with by the police and criminal courts.
"On another street they will have committed a civil infringement and will be processed by the local authority. It is high time to move to a single system of parking enforcement."
She said standards had to improve and condemned enforcement contracts with incentive regimes based on the number of tickets issued as "utterly misguided".
The MPs warned change was needed as problems in council administration was causing anger, wasting resources and bringing the system into disrepute – highlighted by 20 per cent of the 7.1 million penalty charge notices issued in 2003 being cancelled.
Many councils fail to make clear how to challenge fines or re-offer a 14-day payment discount after an appeal has ended, or ensure motorists are aware of their ultimate right to appeal to the independent national parking adjudication service.
Problems existed with regulations and signs, including lines on the road, while performance varied too much with some authorities contesting six per cent of appeals but others fighting 56 per cent.
MPs voiced concern about poor training and pay for parking attendants, a lack of outside monitoring, and too little attention paid to the potential of well-managed parking strategies to contribute to traffic management.
And they called for proportionate penalties distinguishing between resting on double yellow lines and overstaying in car parking spaces. They also asked the Government to examine if councils are breaking human rights laws by towing illegally parked vehicles away.
Ministers should also consider restricting wheel clamping to persistent offenders and unregistered vehicles, while its use on private land should be governed in the same was as public on-street clamping to stamp out abuses.
The report also said the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) should not release information to parties whose activities would damage the parking system, such as so-called cowboy clampers.
The RAC Foundation welcomed the report, saying: "Over-zealous enforcement, confusing signs and lines, and the belief that councils are using parking fines to raise revenue rather than keep the traffic moving should become nothing but bad memories if the Government takes this report seriously."
The AA Motoring Trust said drivers, many wrongly ticketed, should be compensated by councils that string out fine appeals before deciding against contesting them.
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