Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the appropriateness of parking fees for disabled drivers charged by private parking companies; and what information his Department holds on the relation of such fees to the rate of inflation.

As part of the new Private Parking Code of Practice that is in development, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, is reviewing the existing private parking charge cap. It recently published a draft Impact Assessment and concluded a Call for Evidence that considered various options relating to parking charge and debt recovery fee caps. We intend to consult on these elements of the Code in due course.

Last month, my predecessor met with both industry and consumer representatives to discuss the Call for Evidence and forthcoming Code of Practice.

Owners of private car parks are covered by the Equality Act, and are therefore required to take reasonable steps to ensure that disabled people have the same access to the service as non-disabled people.