Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the trends in the levels of penalties charged by private parking operators.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
In order to access Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency data, parking operators must belong to one of two trade bodies, the British Parking Association (BPA) or the International Parking Community (IPC). Both the BPA and the IPC cap the maximum penalty a private parking operator can apply at £100, with a mandatory 40 per cent reduction if payment is received within two weeks of a Parking Charge Notice being issued.
The Government supports Sir Greg Knights’ Parking (Code of Practice) Bill, which seeks to create a single code of practice for the parking industry. Should the Bill pass, there will be an opportunity to consider obligations on private parking operators, including the maximum level of penalty they can charge.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to protect vulnerable road users from inappropriate parking penalties in private car parks.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
The Government supports Sir Greg Knight's Private Members’ Bill, the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill, which seeks to create an independent code of practice for private parking companies and a single body for parking appeals. If a parking company was to repeatedly break this code, then their access to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data would be blocked. This data includes information on the vehicle keeper, so a company blocked from accessing it would be unable to pursue parking charges. I spoke at the Bill’s Third Reading in the Commons to voice the Government’s support and it has now passed to the House of Lords.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of use of private parking operators by GP surgeries.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
GPs are independent contractors, and are responsible for their own premises, as well as any arrangements they make for providing and managing car parking or other aspects of accessing their estate.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.88 of Budget 2018 Red Book, what powers the Government plans to confer on the South Tees special economic area.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
The South Tees site will be designated as a Special Economic Area which will enable the local retention of additional business rates growth. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will continue to collect 50 per cent of all business rates in respect of those properties currently situated within the proposed boundary of the Special Economic Area, in line with the current operation of the Business Rates retention System.
In addition, once the Special Economic Area is established in statute, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will retain 100 per cent of all business rates growth obtained within that same area. This additional funding can then be used by the South Tees Development Corporation and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to reinvest in local economic growth.