Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the clamping and parking provisions in the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 against the original objectives of the policy; and if he will make a statement.

In March 2018, the then Home Secretary presented a Memorandum to the Home Affairs Committee on Post-Legislative Scrutiny of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This included an assessment of the parking provisions contained in the Act and is available online at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/685894/cm-9579-postlegislative-scrutiny-protection-of-freedoms-2012-web.pdf.

Since the introduction of keeper liability in the Act to support parking enforcement in lieu of clamping, we have seen the number of private parking charges rise significantly. In response to this, and continued concerns about the poor practice and behaviour of the private parking industry, the Government supported the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019, which my Department is currently implementing. This will introduce regulation to the private parking industry, with the creation of a new Code of Practice that parking operators must follow if they wish to access DVLA data to enforce charges.