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There is a deep-rooted public perception that local authorities view parking enforcement as a cash cow. It is a fact that many individual local authorities have parking accounts in surplus - across England local authorities have a collective parking surplus in the hundreds of millions of pounds. However, not all of this is income from the enforcement of fines. Much of it is income from on or off street parking charges. Parking charges and other parking restrictions should be set to manage congestion and ensure that there is clear and fair access to public roads. The setting of parking charges in order to raise revenue is not only unacceptable in public policy terms, it is illegal. Local authorities must be more transparent about where their parking income comes from and how it is used. Annual parking reports are a key part of this and we recommend that all local authorities produce them.
While the setting of parking charges is largely a matter for local authorities, there is greater oversight of the setting of penalty charges or fines. It is hard to justify parking fines that are substantially more than the fines for more serious offences like speeding. The Government should freeze the maximum penalty charge and greater use should be made of differential penalty charges for less serious parking violations.
Local authorities currently offer a 50% discount if motorists pay their penalty charge within 14 days. This discount is lost if the motorist chooses to appeal to the parking tribunals. This may discourage motorists from appealing against tickets. To tackle this, a 25% penalty charge discount should be introduced for motorists who pay within 7 days of losing their appeal to the parking tribunals.
Motorists should not have to appeal against Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) where adjudicators at the tribunal services have repeatedly identified that there is a problem, for example, due to poor signage at a particular junction. Local authorities should be more proactive about dealing with these sorts of problems and we recommend that the Government introduce a statutory requirement for local authorities to take all reasonable steps to refund money received from invalid PCNs.
There is a need for greater oversight of the way in which local authorities use cameras to issue Penalty Charge Notices. Statutory guidance states that local authorities must ensure that cameras are not used as a matter of routine, particularly where permits or exemptions (such as resident permits or Blue Badges) not visible to the camera equipment may apply. However, disregarding this guidance is not currently grounds for appeal against a penalty charge. We recommend that the Government introduce regulations that will enable adjudicators to allow appeals where local authorities have not followed statutory guidance.
Finally, local authorities must keep in mind the needs of road users for whom they are providing parking services and ensure that parking policies are reasonable for the people who obey the restrictions and fair for those who inadvertently contravene them. Parking policy must be dealt with as part of the wider transport strategy in relation to town centres. There is a need for more innovative parking solutions for town centres, for example, the Government could develop business rates relief for businesses that invest in affordable town centre parking solutions. Local authorities must ensure that the need to restrict parking and manage congestion does not stifle the ability of businesses to trade. However, businesses cannot be completely exempt from parking restrictions. The Government should discuss with road hauliers and local authorities innovative ways of dealing with the needs of businesses and greater clarity should be provided on the rules for loading and unloading.
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