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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what data his Department holds on the number of local authority operated car parks that have been in operation in each year since 2010.

The Department does not collect this information. Whilst the Department is responsible for off street parking policy, the operation and management of local authority car parks is ultimately a responsibility of local authorities. This responsibility includes annual reporting that covers the financial, statistical and other data (including any parking or civil parking enforcement targets) set out in Annex A of the Government's guidance for local authorities on enforcing parking restrictions.

The Government believes that, in principle, all data held and managed by local authorities should be made available to local people unless there are specific sensitivities to doing so (for example, protecting vulnerable people).