Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the maximum penalty charge available to local authorities outside London.

The issue of penalties to support activities such as parking enforcement is complex and identifying the right balance of deterrent and fairness is not straightforward. Changing the penalty levels would need to be evidence-led, requiring consultation and amendments to secondary legislation. To date, evidence around the effectiveness of current penalty levels has been largely anecdotal.

The Department is aware that sector representatives are undertaking research into this issue in relation to parking penalties, and we look forward to reviewing the findings in due course. We have no current plans to raise penalty charge levels.