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Session 2005 - 06 Internet Publications Other Private Bills before Parliament Arrangement of Clauses (Contents) |
| London Local Authorities and Transport for London Bill
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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM This Bill is promoted jointly by Westminster City Council and Transport for London. Westminster City Council promote the Bill at the request of the other 32 London borough councils and the Common Council of the City of London. The Bill provides the London Borough Councils and Transport for London with further miscellaneous powers in respect of their responsibilities as highway, traffic and street authorities. PART 1 PRELIMINARY Clause 1 of the Bill deals with citation, and Clause 2 with definitions of certain expressions used in the Bill. Clause 3 provides for the provisions of the Bill to come into operation on a day or on days to be appointed by the council of the borough or by Transport for London, as the case may be. PART 2 PARKING ETC. Clause 4 provides a general exemption for waste collection and street cleansing vehicles from decriminalised parking, bus lane and other moving traffic contraventions. The exemption would not operate between the hours of 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 a.m, or 4.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. Clause 5 makes provision about the recovery of release fees where an immobilisation device fixed by a parking attendant to a vehicle under the Road Traffic Act 1991 has been removed from the vehicle unlawfully. The removal of an immobilisation device is already a criminal offence, but the authority whose parking attendant attached the immobilisation device is unable to recover the release fee from the owner of the vehicle, which it would have been able to recover had it been released lawfully. This Clause will enable the authority to add the release fee to the penalty charge for the parking contravention when it serves a notice to owner on the owner of the vehicle, requiring the fee and the charge to be paid. The parking provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1991 are prospectively repealed by the Traffic Management Act 2004, and Clause 6 enables the Secretary of State to make regulations under that Act to make similar provision about unpaid release fees as is made in Clause 5. Clause 7 amends section 7 of the London Local Authorities Act 2000. That section introduced, in respect of parking contraventions, a limitation on the period by which a parking authority could serve a notice to owner under Schedule 6 to the Road Traffic Act 1991. The period is six months from the date on which the original penalty charge relating to the contravention was issued. The limitation period is already subject to extensions in cases where the Council has requested information about the ownership of the vehicle from DVLA, and incorrect information has been forthcoming, no information has been forthcoming at all, or the information has not been forthcoming timeously. Clause 7 introduces a further extension in cases where payment of a penalty charge has been made, or has been purported to have been made (for example by cheque or debit card) and then after the limitation period has expired, the payment has been cancelled. In such circumstances the parking authority would be able to serve a fresh notice to owner, despite the limitation period having expired. Clause 8 has the same effect as Clause 7, but in relation to decriminalised moving traffic offences under the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003. Clause 9 amends section 15 of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974, which makes provision about parking on footways and verges in Greater London. Section 15 has the effect of prohibiting parking on footways and verges which form part of an urban road, unless there is specific provision made by resolution of the Highway Authority which says that parking is allowed. The first amendment in Clause 9 does away with the requirement in section 15 that for it to be enforceable at least one wheel has to be on the footway or verge. The second amendment is to extend the scope of section 15 so that it includes footpaths, as well as footways. As mentioned above, the section only applies to footways which form part of an urban road, and not to other public footpaths. The third amendment is to apply the provisions of section 15 to all roads, not just urban roads. Clause 10 deals with the parking of commercial vehicles. Borough Councils and Transport for London, as traffic authorities, are able to make Road Traffic Regulation Orders prohibiting parking of heavy commercial vehicles in any area within which they have jurisdiction. Those Road Traffic Regulation Orders can be used to prohibit the parking of heavy goods vehicles overnight, and large areas of London are already subject to such prohibitions. The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 place an obligation on the traffic authority to maintain traffic signs indicating the effect of such prohibitions. Signs must be placed by the roadside at all entrances to any such area, and there is also a requirement that smaller signs must be placed on both sides of every road within the area. Clause 10 establishes a new regime for prohibiting parking of goods vehicles in London. It provides that within specified areas there shall be a general prohibition on parking, if the vehicle is of a specific type and exceeds a specified weight. The prohibition would be in force only during specified times. The provisions ensure that road traffic signs will continue to be required at all entrances to the zone in which the prohibition is in force but there will be no obligation to place signs in every road. The Councils and Transport for London would have to consult the Freight Transport Association and the Road Haulage Association before bringing this clause into effect in their area, and would also have to consult them both about any variation of the limits of a prohibited area. Clause 10 provides exemptions from the operation of the prohibition imposed under that Clause, including an exemption for emergency vehicles. Clause 11 provides a power for parking attendants and other authorised officers to remove anything which obscures a registration mark when carrying out their functions. The clause also provides an indemnity for parking attendants, authorised officers and their employers against damage caused by any such removal. PART 3 ROAD TRAFFIC AND HIGHWAYS Clause 12 enables penalty charge notices to be served in relation to the offence of driving on a footway in Greater London. Part 2 of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003 (which is prospectively repealed by Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004) makes provision for the service of penalty charge notices in respect of a number of decriminalised moving traffic offences. Clause 12 will enable penalty charge notices to be served in respect of offences in the Highway Act 1835 and the Road Traffic Act 1988, which relate to driving on the footway. Part 2 of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003 would (until the relevant provisions of the Traffic Management Act supercede them) apply to contraventions of those provisions, enabling councils (and Transport for London in the case of GLA roads and side roads) to serve a penalty charge notice on the owner of the vehicle. Representations can be made against the penalty charge notice and appeals can be made to traffic adjudicators. Enforcement action can be taken against those who have either exhausted the appeal process or not used it, and who continue to fail to pay the penalty charge. By amending Schedule 7 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 in its application to London, it is ensured that the offences would be within the penalty charge regime provided by Part 6 of that Act. Clause 12 does not decriminalise the offence of driving on a footway. It does ensure that a penalty charge would not be payable if criminal proceedings were taken out by the police in respect of the same incident. Clause 13 alters the application of section 154 of the Highway Act 1980 (which makes provision about the cutting or felling of vegetation that overhangs roads and footpaths) so that the purposes for which it can be used are extended to enable the Highway Authority to ensure that road traffic signs and traffic enforcement cameras are kept unobscured. Section 154 contains provisions requiring the service of notices on the owner of the vegetation or the occupier of the land on which it is growing, in advance of any works being carried out, and also provides for appeals against notices. Clause 14 enables the street authority to remove abandoned apparatus from streets. This clause would enable the street authority to remove apparatus which in their opinion is no longer used for the purposes of the undertaking for which it was provided (and there is no reasonable likelihood that it will be used) and if the apparatus is causing a nuisance or detrimental to the amenity of the area in which it is located. The authority would have to serve a notice on the owner of the apparatus in advance of its removal or affix a notice to the apparatus if the owner was not known, and there would be a right of appeal against the notice because of the application of certain sections of the Public Health Act 1936 which are set in Schedule 1 to the Bill. Those provisions would also entitle the authority to reclaim its expenses incurred in removing the apparatus, if it is not removed by the owner. PART 4 FILMING Clause 15 would enable a traffic authority, by order or by notice, to prohibit or restrict traffic on roads for the purpose of enabling the making of a film to take place. It would also enable closures for the purpose of enabling members of the public to watch the making of a film or to reduce the disruption to traffic likely to be caused by the making of a film. The clause modifies section 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 which provides powers to traffic authorities to close roads for the purpose of special events, such as cycle races. Notices can be issued to enable the immediate prohibition or restriction of traffic if it appears to the traffic authority that the prohibition or restriction should be imposed without delay. By altering the application of section 16B of the 1984 Act, Clause 16 sets out restrictions which would apply to orders made and notices given for film making purposes. An order under Clause 15 may not remain in force for longer that 7 days whilst a notice under that clause may not continue in force for a period of more than 24 hours. The 1984 Act applies so as to enable the Secretary of State to direct that orders may continue in force for longer than 3 days. Section 16B is also altered so as to prevent any more than 6 orders being made in one calendar year as regards any stretch of road. Clause 17 enables the relevant local authority to grant permission to any person making a film to place temporarily on the highway any object or thing required for the purposes of making a film. There are safeguards for statutory undertakers. PART 5 NON-PAYMENT OF PENALTY CHARGES Part 5 enables borough councils and Transport for London to take additional enforcement action in cases where three or more penalty charges remain unpaid in respect of a particular vehicle. The Councils and Transport for London would be able to authorise persons to place an immobilisation device on the vehicle or remove the vehicle to custody and dispose of it. The powers could be used whether or not the vehicle was parked lawfully. Clause 18 provides for interpretation of Part 5. A definition is given to an “outstanding” penalty charge, including a penalty charge payable to the relevant authority in respect of the use or keeping of the vehicle in question and which has not been paid and is not subject to an outstanding appeal. Clause 19 makes provision for the immobilisation of vehicles in respect of which there are at least three penalty charges outstanding in relation to the vehicle, if it is stationary on a road in Greater London. Clause 19 also makes detailed provision about the procedure to be followed on immobilisation. The authorised officer who fixes the immobilisation device to the vehicle must fix a notice on the vehicle saying that no attempt should be made to drive it, that it may only be released from the device by or under the direction of an authorised person, that the notice must not be removed or interfered with except on the authority of an authorised person and the notice must specify the steps to be taken to secure the release of the vehicle. Those steps include the payment of all the outstanding penalty charges to the relevant authority together with a penalty charge for the release of the vehicle. It would be an offence to remove or attempt to remove a device or an immobilisation notice or to obstruct a person exercising any powers under the section. Clause 20 enables authorised persons to remove vehicles and deliver them to the London authority or to a person authorised by the authority for them to keep. Such persons are refer to as a “custodian”. A vehicle may only be removed under this clause if the authorised person has reason to believe that there are at least three penalty charges outstanding in relation to the vehicle. The authority or the custodian may recover from the person who is the owner of the vehicle when it was removed all penalty charges outstanding in relation to the vehicle, together with a penalty charge for its removal and a further penalty charge for each complete day or part of a day on which it has been held by the authority or the custodian. A further penalty charge may be recovered for the disposal of the vehicle if it is disposed of. Clause 21 makes provision about the disposal of vehicles removed under Clause 20. The custodian may dispose of the vehicle by selling it or dealing with it as scrap, so long as he has complied with the other provisions of the clause. If the owner disclaimed all rights of ownership of the vehicle or its contents, they may be disposed of at any time. Otherwise, the custodian must take certain steps before disposing of the vehicle. First he must ascertain the name and address of the person by whom the vehicle is kept, and if no such registration mark is carried on the vehicle, he must make such enquiries as appear to him to be practicable to ascertain the identity of the owner of the vehicle. If having taken those steps, the custodian has failed to ascertain the name and address of the owner, or the owner has failed to comply with a notice served by the custodian addressed to the owner setting out specified information in relation to the outstanding penalty charges, the vehicle and the removal of the vehicle, then the vehicle can be disposed of. Clause 22 entitles the authority or the custodian to recover, from the person who was the owner of the vehicle when the vehicle was removed, penalty charges in respect of the removal and storage of the vehicle, and in respect of the disposal of the vehicle if the vehicle has been disposed of. Clause 23 contains provisions enabling a person to take possession of a vehicle which has been removed and delivered to a custodian. Before doing so, that person must satisfy the custodian that he or she is the owner of the vehicle or that he or she is authorised by the owner to take possession of the vehicle, and must also satisfy the authority that the outstanding penalty charges are paid to the relevant authority and that any penalty charges in respect of the removal, storage or release from storage of the vehicle are also paid. Clause 24 enables a claimant to pay a bond, if offered the opportunity to do so, to secure the release or removal of a vehicle which has been immobilised under Clause 19 or removed under Clause 20. The decision as to whether the opportunity to pay a bond should be offered is for the person authorised to remove the immobilisation device or the custodian and only arises if certain conditions are met. If a bond is paid then a certificate is issued which may be displayed in the vehicle. The certificate would say that the vehicle should not be immobilised or removed again under Part 5. It would expire after the period for making representations against the immobilisation or removal has expired. If such representations are made, Schedule 2 to the Bill provides that a further similar certificate must be issued. Clause 25 makes provision for the claiming of vehicles from a custodian after a vehicle has been disposed of. It provides that the custodian must pay to the claimant, (if he is satisfied that the claimant was the owner of the vehicle at the time that it was disposed of), a sum equivalent to the proceeds of sale less the penalty charges and other charges which would have been payable had the vehicle been claimed before it was disposed of. Clause 26 introduces Schedule 2 to the Bill which enables representations and appeals to be made in respect of the immobilisation or removal of vehicles under Part 5. It also ensures that notice is given of rights to make representations and rights to appeal to an adjudicator. Clause 27 enables, by reference to sections 74 and 74A of the Road Traffic Act 1991 and regulations under section 88 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, the Councils and Transport for London to set the levels of penalty charges under Part 5. PART 6 MISCELLANEOUS Clause 28 amends section 9 of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003, which makes provision about fixed penalty notices for certain offences. Section 9 currently provides that any person who is served with a fixed penalty notice in respect of a fixed penalty offence (as defined in the 2003 Act) may discharge his liability for the offence if he pays a fixed penalty within a period of 14 days. Clause 28 will extend that period to 28 days, and provide that the amount of the fixed penalty will be reduced by a specified proportion if payment is made within 14 days. Clause 29 sets out a number of minor drafting amendments to the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003. PART 7 SUPPLEMENTAL Clause 30 provides for an offence of intentionally obstructing an authorised officer acting in the exercise of his powers under the Bill. Clause 31 makes provision for the liability of directors and other officers in certain circumstances where offences under the Bill have been committed by a body corporate. Clause 32 makes provision about the procedure for making regulations under the Bill. EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS In the view of Westminster City Council and Transport for London the provisions of the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Bill are compatible with the Convention rights. |
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| © Parliamentary copyright 2005 | Prepared 14 December 2005 |