New inquiry - local authority parking enforcement

• The Transport Committee

Terms of reference and call for evidence

The Committee would like to hear views on the adequacy of current arrangements for parking enforcement and the likely consequences of Government policy in this area. In particular:

• How should councils use their revenue from penalty charges, metered parking, car parks and residents’ parking? Should there be more local discretion over how income is used?
  
• What impact will new technology, such as cashless parking, parking sensors and CCTV, have on local authority parking enforcement?
  
• How effective are the Traffic Penalty Tribunal for England and Wales and the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service for London? (The Committee will not be considering individual cases and appeals.)
  
• Should parking policy in London be subject to separate provisions and guidance, given, in particular, its large parking revenue surpluses, its more integrated public transport network and the number of foreign-registered vehicles in the city?
  
• How can local authorities strike a balance between using parking policy to manage congestion and using it to encourage people into town centres?
  
• How can smaller local authorities use parking provision to manage congestion? Do they need to work regionally and strategically with neighbouring councils?
  
• What role does the Workplace Parking Levy have? Would people be more inclined to use park and ride services if there were a charge to park at work?
  
• Are there steps local authorities can take, while managing congestion, to make it easier for businesses to trade and make deliveries?
  
• Are parking signs clear and comprehensible? To what extent are unclear signs and instructions the cause of breaches of parking control?
  
  The Committee would welcome images of incomprehensible or poorly worded parking signs from the public. Images can be sent to the Committee’s Twitter account, @CommonsTrans, or emailed to transev@parliament.uk

Written evidence would be welcome on these issues from any individual or organisation affected by, or with a view on, these issues. We would be grateful to receive written submissions by Monday 25 March 2013.

Notes on the submission of written evidence
                                                                                       
It assists the Committee if those submitting written evidence adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Written submissions should be as short as is consistent with conveying the relevant information. As a rough guide, it is helpful if they can be confined to six pages or less. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference. A summary of the main points at the start of the submission is sometimes helpful.

2. Evidence should be submitted by e-mail to transev@parliament.uk in Word or Rich Text format, with as little use of colour and images as possible. If you wish to submit written evidence to the Committee in another format you must contact a member of staff to discuss this. The body of the e-mail should include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. It should be absolutely clear who the submission is from, particularly whether it is on behalf of an organisation or in the name of an individual.

3. Once accepted by the Committee, written evidence becomes the Committee’s property and it may decide to publish it or make other public use of it. If the Committee decides to accept your contribution as evidence we will email you formally accepting it as such. You may publicise or publish your submission yourself, once you receive the formal acceptance of your evidence to the Committee. When doing so, please indicate that it has been submitted to the Committee.

4. The Committee will publish the majority of written evidence that is received, but some submissions will be placed in the Parliamentary Archives for public inspection rather than being printed or published online. If you do not wish your submission to be made public, you must clearly say so, and should contact a member of staff to discuss this. Though the Committee is happy to receive copies of published material or correspondence sent to other parties, formal submissions of evidence should be original work produced for the Committee and not published elsewhere.

5. Committee staff are happy to give more detailed guidance on giving evidence to a select committee, or further advice on any aspect of the Committee’s work, by phone or e-mail.

Additional information on submitting evidence to a Select Committee is available online in the House of Commons Guide to Witnesses.

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