Private parking charges, discount rates, debt collection fees and appeals charter: further technical consultation

Question 1

Scope of the consultation

Accepted Answer

Topic of this consultation

This consultation seeks further views on the level of private parking charges proposed in the government’s response to the Parking Code Enforcement Framework consultation, including the discount rate for early payment, the level of additional debt collection fees, and the detail of the Appeals Charter to help deliver a fair, proportionate and consistent system across the country.

Scope of this consultation

The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government is further consulting on the detail of the levels of private parking charges and an appeals charter following the Parking code enforcement framework consultation.

Geographical scope

These proposals primarily relate to England. The Scottish Government intends to align with the approach of bringing private parking charges closer to the principles of the Local Authority system. The approach in Wales will be confirmed as part of the process to finalise the Code of Practice.

Impact assessment

N/a

Basic information

This consultation is open to everyone. Particularly, we are keen to hear from a wide range of interested parties from across the public and private sectors, as well as from the public.

Body/bodies responsible for the consultation

The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government.

Duration

This consultation will last for 4 weeks from 30 July 2021 to 27 August 2021.

Enquiries

On w/c 9 August an online event will take place for respondents to raise any questions in relation to the proposals or consultation process more generally. If you are interested in attending, please check the below consultation webpage for more information.

For any other enquiries please email parking@communities.gov.uk.

How to respond

You do not have to answer all the questions.

Please respond to the further technical consultation by completing an online survey.

Please note, as no consultation is a representative sample we will place more value on the substantive content of responses than if a view was expressed by multiple respondents.

If you are responding in writing, please make it clear which questions you are responding to.

Written responses should be sent to:

Further Technical Consultation on Private Parking Charges
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
3rd Floor, South East Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

Question 2

1.  Timeline

Accepted Answer

This is a provisional timeline. We will publish an updated timeline in our consultation response, considering the views of respondents, as well as research on the Single Appeals Service.

Summer 2021: Further Technical Consultation published
Autumn 2021: Government will respond to Further Technical Consultation and publish the final Code of Practice. Transition period begins to allow parking operators to adapt to the new requirements.
Autumn 2021: Government begins market research on single appeals service delivery.
Winter 2021: Certification Scheme finalised with United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and Scrutiny and Oversight Board appointed.
Spring 2022: Government finalises delivery model for single appeals service. Conformity Assessment Bodies receive UKAS Accreditation.
Summer 2022: Single appeals service established and transition period ends. Parking operators must follow the requirements of the new Code of Practice.
From early 2022 to early 2023: Conformity Assessment Bodies begin certifying parking operators against the requirements of the Code. Trade associations are awarded Accredited Parking Association (APA) status by Secretary of State.

This updates the timeline in the government response to the Code Enforcement Framework, which also provides further detail on the proposals for a Scrutiny and Oversight Board and UKAS accreditation.

Question 3

2.  Background

Accepted Answer

1. In response to widespread concerns about the poor practice and behaviour of some parking operators, the government supported the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019. This was introduced by Sir Greg Knight MP and will lead to the creation of an independent Code of Practice for private parking companies.

2. The government is developing the Code of Practice through the British Standards Institution (BSI) in close consultation with key stakeholders, including landowners, consumer and motoring organisations, and the private parking industry. Last year, the BSI publicly consulted on the draft Code. It is now revising the Code in light of the responses, before its final publication.

3. The Code, however, is only one part of a wider framework. Last year, in parallel to the BSI consultation on the Code, MHCLG consulted on the Parking Code Enforcement Framework. On 20 March 2021 the government published its response.

4. The Code Enforcement Framework consultation response announced the Government’s intention to develop a series of fairer parking measures which include:

the creation of a single independent appeals service to handle appeals against private parking charges
strengthening of the current system of self-regulation by producing a Certification Scheme, independently assessed by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, to which parking trade associations must adhere if their members wish to request access to DVLA data
the establishment of a Scrutiny and Oversight Board to oversee the operation of the new system and monitor its effectiveness, including through the gathering and use of relevant data on the private parking sector;
the raising of a levy to contribute towards the costs of the new Code, its enforcement and the appeals service
publication of an Appeals Charter to protect motorists from charges that are unfair or issued in error
proposals to bring private parking charges into closer alignment with Local Authority Penalty Charge Notices, including its system of 50% discounts for early payment

5. This further technical consultation seeks views on proposals in the Code Enforcement Framework consultation response for a new system for private parking charges and the Appeals Charter in particular. It also seeks responses on new proposals to protect motorists from unfair debt collection practices in the private parking sector.

Question 4

3.  Level of parking charges (including discount for early payment)

Accepted Answer

6. The primary purpose of parking charges is to encourage compliance with parking restrictions.

7. Currently, the Accredited Trade Associations (ATAs) voluntary cap private parking charges at £100, with higher amounts requiring special approval. Regardless of the location or value of the site or the seriousness of the breach of terms and conditions, any breach in a given car park will attract a charge up to the same £100 cap.

8. The system is different for local authority Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs). Councils apply a lower or higher level of penalty, depending on the seriousness of the contravention. The levels are £70/60 for higher penalties and £50/40 for lower penalties outside of London and £130/120 and £80/70 in London.

9. To provide greater consistency for motorists and ensure proportionality, many motorist and consumer groups called for private parking to be aligned with the local authority system.

10. The private parking industry has, however, pointed to differences in the enforceability of private parking charges and local authority PCNs, perceived inadequacies with the level of deterrents in the local authority system and that civil parking enforcement is concerned with parking spaces, whereas private parking’s contractual system applies to private land, which includes both parking spaces and land on which parking is not invited.

11. The government agrees with the principle of capping parking charges, currently done on a voluntary basis by the private parking industry. Limiting the maximum penalty amount protects the consumer from unreasonable or excessive parking charges.

12. In the Parking Code Enforcement Framework consultation last year, we sought views on whether private parking charges should be aligned with local authority Penalty Charge Notices or whether we should introduce a new separate three-tiered system. The latter proposed new caps of £120, £100 and £80, with a 40% discount for early payment.

13. In designing a new system for the caps, we have considered the responses to the Code Enforcement Framework consultation and have been guided by the following policy objectives:

i. To ensure that charges are proportionate to the level of harm caused and are consistent with other parking penalties.

ii. To ensure that the levels of private parking charges are sufficient to prevent non-compliance with parking restrictions on private land.

iii. To ensure effective delivery of the new parking charges in practice.

14. Most respondents to the Code Enforcement Framework consultation (81%) supported the three-tiered system, with almost half highlighting the need for the parking charge to be proportionate to the nature of the breach.

15. The government agrees with the principle of proportionality. However, we think that the introduction of a separate three-tiered system for private parking, distinct to the well-understood tiered system in local authorities, risks creating confusion for motorists.

16. At the same time, we have considered the arguments against straightforwardly applying the local authority system to private land. These arguments include the perceived lack of flexibility of a two-tier system and the unsuitability of some of the local authority PCN levels outside of London when transposed to private land.

17. In particular, we accept the argument that civil parking enforcement concerns parking spaces where parking is invited, whereas parking on private land encompasses private land in general. As this includes both parking spaces intended for parking but also land where parking is not welcomed, any new system must balance the needs of motorists with protecting the owners of private land.

18. As a result, we have designed a new, hybrid model that takes elements from both local authority and three-tiered systems.

19. In line with our objective of greater consistency for motorists, we propose to mirror the local authority principle of higher parking charges in London. This reflects that deterrents vary in accordance with the economic geography of the country.

20. We therefore proposed in the Code Enforcement Framework consultation that in London, the new parking charge caps will mirror Local Authority Band A. This means that on all types of private land (for example, customer car parks, residents’ car parks or private land where parking is not invited), Higher breaches can attract a charge of up to £130, while Lower breaches are liable to receive a charge of up to £80.

21. Outside of London, our proposal is to mirror Local Authority Band 2 for the majority of private car parking spaces: car parks where parking is invited, either to any member of the public or to customers of public-facing business e.g. supermarkets or shopping centres. On these types of land, higher breaches of the terms and conditions, such as the abuse of customer parking or parking in a loading area, can incur a parking charge of up to £70 and Lower breaches up to £50.

22. In keeping with creating greater consistency, we propose that parking operators will be required to offer a 50% discount if the parking charge is paid within 14 days. As respondents have argued, however, the discounted rate must still be higher than any parking tariff owed. Therefore, if the tariff owed is higher than the discounted level of the parking charge, payment of the full tariff may be sought.

23. Furthermore, the government accepts that it is important to differentiate between types of private land. For example, car parks open to the public or to customers are a different case to private land where parking is not invited at all, or is clearly restricted to particular groups of motorist.

24. We are therefore proposing exceptions in the parking charge system outside of London for land where parking is not invited or is restricted (often through the use of permits) to specific groups, for example private residents or staff. In these cases, outside London the current £100 cap will apply. This is in recognition that these types of land have no direct analogue in the local authority system and of the importance of balancing the rights of motorists with those of private landowners and residents. For London, the maximum £130 charge in these circumstance will apply.

25. We propose that the level of parking charges is reviewed as part of the general review of the Code of Practice by the Scrutiny and Oversight Board which will take place every two years.

26. The Scottish Government intends to align with the approach of bringing private parking charges closer to the principles of the Local Authority system. The approach in Wales will be confirmed as part of the process to finalise the Code of Practice.

27. The proposed set of parking charge caps is set out below. Examples of breaches in the lower and higher levels can be found in paragraph 29.

Private ground level or multi-storey car park

Type of breach	Parking charge cap outside London (50% discount applies if paid within 14 days)	Parking charge cap in London (50% discount applies if paid within 14 days)
Lower	£50 or tariff owed, whichever is higher	£80 or tariff owed, whichever is higher
Higher	£70	£130
Abusing a Blue Badge bay	£100	£130
Entering a wrong vehicle registration number (with evidence it is a genuine mistake)	£0 with the Appeals Charter	£0 with the Appeals Charter

Publicly-accessible customer car park

Type of breach	Parking charge cap outside London (50% discount applies if paid within 14 days)	Parking charge cap in London (50% discount applies if paid within 14 days)
Lower	£50 or tariff owed, whichever is higher	£80 or tariff owed, whichever is higher
Higher	£70	£130
Abusing a Blue Badge bay	£100	£130
Entering a wrong vehicle registration number (with evidence it is a genuine mistake)	£0 with the Appeals Charter	£0 with the Appeals Charter

Residents’ permit-only car park

Type of breach	Parking charge cap outside London (50% discount applies if paid within 14 days)	Parking charge cap in London (50% discount applies if paid within 14 days)
Parking when not a resident	£100	£130

Land on which parking is not permitted

Type of breach	Parking charge cap outside London (50% discount applies if paid within 14 days)	Parking charge cap in London (50% discount applies if paid within 14 days)
Parking	£100	£130

No stopping’ zone e.g. in an airport road

Type of breach	Parking charge cap outside London (50% discount applies if paid within 14 days)	Parking charge cap in London (50% discount applies if paid within 14 days)
Stopping	£100	£130

28. We propose that the list of breaches, and whether these attract the higher or lower level of parking charge, should follow the local authority system as closely as possible. Where we have departed from the local authority system, it is because certain breaches have no equivalent in civil parking enforcement, for example parking on land where parking is not invited at all, or to give particular protection for selected groups, such as residents.

29. Below is a list of the off-street and relevant on-street contraventions from the local authority Standard PCN Codes v6.7.7 which are applicable on private land, together the levels – Higher and Lower. To achieve our objective of greater consistency, we propose that this model is mirrored in the new system for private parking charges. As there are some contraventions specific to private parking which are not covered by the local authority contraventions, we have added some additional private land contraventions at the Higher level.

Local authority off-street contraventions from PCN Codes 6.7.7	Level
Parked in a loading place or bay during restricted hours without loading	Higher
Parked in an electric vehicles’ charging place during restricted hours without charging	Higher
Using a vehicle in a parking place in connection with the sale or offering or exposing for sale of goods when prohibited	Higher
Parked in a restricted area in a car park	Higher
Parked without a valid virtual permit or clearly displaying a valid physical permit where required	Higher*
Parked in a designated disabled person’s parking place without displaying a valid disabled person’s badge in the prescribed manner	Higher
Vehicle parked exceeds maximum weight or height or length permitted	Higher
Parked in a car park or area not designated for that class of vehicle	Higher
Parked causing an obstruction	Higher
Parked in car park when closed	Lower
Parked in a pay & display car park without clearly displaying multiple valid pay and display tickets when required	Lower
Parked in a parking place for a purpose other than that designated	Lower
Parked with engine running where prohibited	Lower
Parked without payment of the parking charge	Lower
Parked for longer than permitted	Lower
Parked after the expiry of paid for time	Lower
Parked in a car park without clearly displaying a valid pay & display ticket or voucher or parking clock	Lower
Not parked correctly within the markings of a bay or space	Lower
Re-parked in the same car park within the prescribed time period after leaving	Lower

*£100 if outside of London and in a resident or staff-only car park.

Local authority on-street contraventions from PCN Codes 6.7.7	Level
Stopped where prohibited (on a red route or clearway)	Higher**

Additional private contraventions	Level
Misuse of Specialist Bays (Doctors Bay, Emergency Vehicles, Parent and Child, Staff-Only bay in a mixed use car park etc.)	Higher
Parked in a customer only space if not a customer	Higher
Transferring a parking ticket	Higher
Failure to register vehicle if required	Higher
Parking on private land where parking is not permitted	Higher**

**£100 outside of London

30. We will finalise the system for parking charges in light of the responses to this consultation, working with stakeholders on the further detail, including how the system will be implemented in practice.

Questions 1-11

1. Do you agree or disagree that the proposed hybrid model will deliver consistency for motorists?
Strongly agree/Somewhat agree/Neither agree nor disagree/Somewhat disagree/Strongly disagree