Written question asked by Adrian Sanders (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 10 September 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 September 2008. It was answered by Tom Harris (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 September 2008 on behalf of the Department for Transport.

Parking Offences: Fixed Penalties

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the relationship between the level of penalty imposed for parking offences and the incidence of such offences.

Answer: I have been asked to reply.Local authorities in England with the power to enforce parking on the street and in local authority owned car parks may issue penalty charge notices to vehicles parked in contravention of the regulations. The primary purpose of a penalty charge is to encourage compliance with parking regulations and authorities are advised to adopt the lowest charge level consistent with a high level of public acceptability and compliance. Authorities must set levels that comply with the guidelines of the Mayor (in London) and the Secretary of State (outside London). A range of factors may influence the incidence of parking contraventions in particular areas. The Department for Transport has not commissioned or evaluated specific research on this particular factor.

Secondary information