Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that private car park operators adhere to the Code of Practice published by his Department on 7 February 2022.
As my honourable friend may be aware from recent media reports, following the publication of the Private Parking Code of Practice, some private parking companies started legal proceedings against the decisions to introduce new levels of parking charges and ban additional fees. The Code has been temporarily withdrawn until these decisions are reviewed and their impact assessed.
However, my department is committed to reintroducing a Code that provides the best possible protection for motorists while giving parking companies the tools to crack down on motorists who park obstructively or dangerously.
We will continue to work with industry and consumer groups to reintroduce the Code as quickly as possible.