Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of legislation permitting the clamping or impounding of cars which have not paid parking tickets on a regular basis.

No such assessment has been made, however the Secretary of State's ‘Statutory Guidance to Local Authorities on the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions’ advises on the immobilisation/removal of vehicles. Very few authorities now use immobilisation as it prevents law abiding motorists from using valuable kerb space. The Department is of the view that it should only be used in limited circumstances. Where a vehicle is causing a hazard or obstruction the enforcement authority should remove rather than immobilise. The statutory guidance advises that when parked in contravention, a persistent evader’s vehicle should be subject to the strongest possible enforcement following the issue of the penalty charge notice and confirmation of persistent evader status.