Parking offence fines in England could be cut

Computersaysno

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25671980


Parking fines in England could be reduced, amid claims some councils are using them as a "cash cow".
The government could also order local authorities to bring in a five-minute "grace period" before issuing tickets when cars remain in bays for too long.
And it is looking at banning the use of CCTV cameras to enforce on-street parking restrictions.
Fixed-penalty charges currently range from £70 to £130 in London and from £40 to £70 elsewhere.
In a recent report, the Commons Transport Committee said it was "hard to justify parking fines that are substantially more than the fines for more serious offences like speeding", for which the maximum fixed penalty is £100.
'Initial step' Since then, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has frozen the maximum fines councils can impose for parking offences until the 2015 general election.
But, in its response to the MPs' report, the Department for Transport goes further in looking at changing the system, saying it is "considering the legislative options to abolish the minimum rates for parking penalty charges".
This would be "an initial step to giving local authorities the scope to allow lower charges (than £70 in London and £40 in the rest of England) for minor parking variations", such as overstaying in car parks or on-street bays.
It is also looking at banning the use of CCTV cameras to enforce on-street parking restrictions, after the MPs said this could make "common-sense" decisions on when to issue penalties more difficult.
The Local Government Association has calculated that councils made a surplus from on- and off-street parking of £411m in 2011-12, while the RAC Foundation put the figure at £565m.
It is illegal for local authorities to set fines in order to raise revenue.
'Positive' In a report published last autumn, the Transport Committee said: "A common-sense approach to parking enforcement should minimise the issuing of penalty charge notices to motorists who make honest mistakes."
This should include imposing a nationwide five-minute "grace" period before imposing fines on drivers whose parking tickets have expired, as already happens in some areas, it added.
In its response, the government says this is "worthy of consideration" and is asking the public to put forward its views on this and other proposals.
Transport minister Robert Goodwill said: "The government is committed to reining in over-zealous parking enforcement and unjust parking practices. It is not fair to motorists and needs to stop. That is why we have frozen parking penalty charges for the remainder of this parliament. However, we haven't stopped there.
"We have also recently launched a public consultation proposing a number of changes to make sure local authorities are not short-changing motorists and operate in a fair manner. These changes could see the end of CCTV being used for on-street parking, unnecessary yellow lines and the introduction of compulsory 'grace periods' at the end of paid on-street parking."
The Transport Committee's chairman, Labour MP Louise Ellman, said: "Parking enforcement is an important issue for motorists and for the management of urban roads - including the revitalisation of our town centres so the Transport Committee is pleased to see the government take such a positive attitude to our recommendations."

Computersaysno

This is obviously for council parking only.


PPC scum will still charge what they feel like.

4consumerrights

The BPA have a different take on this story stating that:

http://www.britishparking.co.uk/News/government-policy-on-parking-is-confused-and-misleading

Government Policy on Parking is Confused and Misleading

The government has encouraged local councils to take over parking enforcement from police freeing them up to deal with more serious crime; it continues to do so and yet is surprised when local authorities parking managers actually get on with the job.
BPA Members are clear that parking management is about keeping our streets safe, free from obstruction caused by indiscriminately parked cars, improving road safety, keeping children safe when they come out of school, protecting spaces for residents or particular groups of users such as disabled people and enabling servicing and deliveries to take place in high streets that would become congested if parking wasn't properly and effectively managed.
The government’s own figures show that income from off-street parking charges is going down and the number of penalty charge notices being issued by local authority parking officials is going down; over half of all penalty charge notices are issued in London where we have seen a 20% decrease in the last four years. Most Councils spend more on enforcement than they receive in penalty charges.
Last year the RACF Foundation found that over 96 % of all parking is already FREE. Motorists pay on average less than £50/ year in parking charges and over £1600/year on fuel.
The Government’s current consultation on local authority parking strategies does not appear to fully appreciate the facts about how parking is managed but instead flies in the face of the Government’s declared localism agenda. The British Parking Association will be submitting a full and frank response to push back firmly on some of the proposals and looks forward to an open and honest debate about the facts rather than the perceptions of good parking management..
Patrick Troy, Chief Executive of the BPA said: “The Transport Select Committee’s report and the Government’s response add to a confusing set of messages emanating from government about future parking policy. The BPA is organising a Parking Summit set for 27 February 2014 which will engage all stakeholders including government, road users and local authorities to bring some sense to policy direction so that we can all better understand how best to meet the needs of businesses, traders, residents and motorists.”

The government’s own figures show that income from off-street parking charges is going down

.really more inaccuracies from the BPA again. .That doesn't equate with the DVLA figures.... and what about for example PARKING EYE'S projected increase in turnover then for their £57.5m Capita buyout.

The BPA is organising a Parking Summit set for 27 February 2014 which will engage all stakeholders including government, road users and local authorities to bring some sense to policy direction so that we can all better understand how best to meet the needs of businesses, traders, residents and motorists.”

no doubt to enlighten them with the following:

http://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/BPA/BPA_5yr_Strategy12%E2%80%9317_AWweb.pdf

The BPA's new BPA 5 year strategy 2012–2017 was approved by Council in November 2011.
To achieve excellence in parking, the BPA has identified the following objectives; -

• Putting the consumer at the heart of our thinking
• Developing our membership and delivering better value
• Informing and influencing Government
• Building a consensus with all stakeholders
• Promoting innovation, technology and sustainability
• Making parking a recognised profession

Perhaps also Government is concerned about the impact these council parking penalty charges have on the new traffic court system to be set up:

All areas should have a dedicated traffic court within the next 6 months Justice Minister Damian Green said today (13 December 2013).

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/traffic-courts-up-and-running-in-twenty-nine-areas

Coupon-mad

It is indeed only about Council tickets...so far...

So, how about a bit of proactive 'January homework' for anyone who is a regular on here, and any newbies who want to give something back for the advice received and help others in future. Just an idea:

It's a jolly good time for anyone with a spare moment to write a concise letter to the CEOs of the big Supermarkets, the Range and other major retailers who use firms like...let me think...ParkingEye for example! Or if you have personal experience of this horrendous scam, write to the retailer CEO where you got your ticket (even if overturned/ignored/cancelled MONTHS ago). A clear letter pointing out several of the phrases above, and perhaps linking the 'Successful Complaints' sticky thread if you want them to see how complaints about their litigious agent are destroying certain retailers' reputations merely in a few months of public posting so far. And those are only the successes, many more complaints are refused by retailers who think their tail can wag the dog, many more are paid out of fear, typically by the most vulnerable customers such as the elderly.

I plan to do this when I get a moment. But I encourage others to send letters too. This is a GREAT time to put it in their minds early in a New Year, with the end of the Tax Year coming into view for them and MAYBE the renewal of some parking contracts diarised for discussion in 2014. Who knows?

Needs to clearly say 'please consider the strength of public feeling about parking tickets being a cash cow has caused the Govt to state the following {pick your phrases from the above to draw parallels, such as 'cash cow', 'cameras being banned' and 'honest mistakes'}. Then something like the 'first big retailer to announce in a Press Release that they have followed suit, banned the cameras and reverted to 'the basics' such as employees on site helping people to find spaces, answering queries about opening hours and generally being a helpful presence not a monster as far as parking is concerned, will get a huge amount of good publicity on certain national consumer forums and in the press. Look at the amount of complaints on forums since August 2013 alone, where retailers have had to step in to cancel threats of court to customers, typically shoppers overstaying by less than 15 minutes...blah blah' {link the complaints sticky}.

Those who know the Equality Act issue could also drop that in but the focus should be more general and concise IMHO. Just to put it in their minds. Lots of letters from various posters here, written in your own words!

And we should I think include a suggestion at the end, to point the way forward. State your ideas for 'non intimidatory parking management which works' - such as staff members helping customers at busy times...checking the disabled bays are allocated appropriately for example (staff member would need Equality training that does NOT mention the Blue badge scheme, because it's not the only indicator of need). It could be combined with other jobs but focussed on customer service, not punitive but instead a welcoming presence from some no-nonsense staff who would neither be pushovers nor jobsworths.

Petitions to Govt on this issue (private parking tickets, as I am turning this discussion to now) do not work.

Complaints to retailers do. So let's get complaints in on the back of this Govt re-think!

Hot_Bring

"The government’s own figures show that income from off-street parking charges is going down"

I'd suggest the BPA get out of their ivory tower, travel 20 miles south, and see how much the scamming council in Brighton and Hove make in parking fees and fines ..... it makes Parking Eye look like Nuns and Monks !

Bantex_2

I am happy to see my council tax being subsidised by careless parkers

spacey2012

More hot air from the biggest windbag of hot air ever to grace politics.
Has he ever delivered anything other than complete and utter bull ?

What a pickle.

Kite2010

If the government cares about the motorist they would bring in laws so any money raised from any motoring tickets is paid into a central fund where the councils have no means of accessing the money.

Watch as suddenly the number of tickets issued drops like a stone. Also the private parking companies would have to pay into it as well.

spacey2012

make absolutely no mistake POFA will be adapted, capita are hand in hand with the Government and if they are bailing in, we will see the parking charge scammers given the same power as councils.

That I will state my pension on, just watch what they come up with next.

fil_cad

I heard patrick troy on the news today, and he still speaks as if they are whiter than white! :eek: :mad:

The_Deep

My local authority, has a love affair with bus lanes, they are everywhere in Reading, not just to clear the way for buses, but to fine people who, for whatever reason stray into them. There is one near me, which caters for one bus route, with a frequency of one bus every seven minutes in peak hours, and one an hour in the small hours, and yet if is rigidly enforce by cameras, It cannot be to shave a few seconds of bus journeys, it has to be for revenue collection, which the council use to create more bus lanes.