To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of civil penalties issued by local authorities to private landlords over each of the past three years were uncollected.

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of civil penalties issued by local authorities to private landlords over each of the past three years were uncollected.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to recover unpaid court fines.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to recover unpaid court fines.

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the number of fines issued by the court system to individuals were unpaid in the last full year for which they have data, broken down by economic region if that breakdown is available.

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the number of fines issued by the court system to individuals were unpaid in the last full year for which they have data, broken down by economic region if that breakdown is available.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to give councils powers to seize or impound vehicles linked to unpaid penalty charge notices; and what discussions they have had with governments of foreign countries about sharing vehicle data for the payment of those notices.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to give councils powers to seize or impound vehicles linked to unpaid penalty charge notices; and what discussions they have had with governments of foreign countries about sharing vehicle data for the payment of those notices.

My Honourable Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Multilateral, Human Rights, Latin America and the Caribbean (Chris Elmore MP) has today made the following statement:

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) officials have regular contact with diplomatic missions and international organisations in the UK about outstanding National Non-Domestic Rates...

My Honourable Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Multilateral, Human Rights, Latin America and the Caribbean (Chris Elmore MP) has today made the following statement:

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) officials have regular contact with diplomatic missions and international organisations in the UK about outstanding National Non-Domestic Rates...

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) officials have regular contact with diplomatic missions and international organisations in the UK about outstanding National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) payments, outstanding parking fine debt and unpaid London Congestion Charge debt, to press for payment of outstanding debt and fines. Protocol Directorate wrote in April...

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) officials have regular contact with diplomatic missions and international organisations in the UK about outstanding National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) payments, outstanding parking fine debt and unpaid London Congestion Charge debt, to press for payment of outstanding debt and fines. Protocol Directorate wrote in April...

To ask His Majesty’s Government what responses they have received to the letters sent by the Protocol Directorate of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in April and May to diplomatic missions and international organisations about unpaid non-domestic rates, parking fines and London Congestion Charges.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what responses they have received to the letters sent by the Protocol Directorate of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in April and May to diplomatic missions and international organisations about unpaid non-domestic rates, parking fines and London Congestion Charges.

My Lords, of 31 responses received, some agreed to settle debts, others disputed charges and some refused to pay the London congestion charge, claiming exemption under the Vienna convention. FCDO

action since 3 April 2025 has helped reduce national non-domestic rates debt by £287,142, car parking fines debt by £7,035 and London congestion charge debt by £7,430. Further details will be published in a Written Ministerial Statement later this year.

My Lords, of 31 responses received, some agreed to settle debts, others disputed charges and some refused to pay the London congestion charge, claiming exemption under the Vienna convention. FCDO

action since 3 April 2025 has helped reduce national non-domestic rates debt by £287,142, car parking fines debt by £7,035 and London congestion charge debt by £7,430. Further details will be published in a Written Ministerial Statement later this year.

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that Answer and for the letters she wrote to me and to the noble Lord, Lord Bellingham, who I am pleased to see in his place, after he and I raised the scandal of unpaid debts and fines by diplomatic missions in the UK in Questions on 13 May. Despite the encouraging figures which she has produced, the scale of the debts is still staggering. As of a year ago, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, for example, owed £196,630 in parking fines, China owed over £646,000 in unpaid national non-domestic rates, and the US embassy owed over £15 million in unpaid congestion charges. Will my noble friend confirm that the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations requires all diplomats to pay all charges, taxes and fines for which they are liable, and that that includes the congestion charge?

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that Answer and for the letters she wrote to me and to the noble Lord, Lord Bellingham, who I am pleased to see in his place, after he and I raised the scandal of unpaid debts and fines by diplomatic missions in the UK in Questions on 13 May. Despite the encouraging figures which she has produced, the scale of the debts is still staggering. As of a year ago, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, for example, owed £196,630 in parking fines, China owed over £646,000 in unpaid national non-domestic rates, and the US embassy owed over £15 million in unpaid congestion charges. Will my noble friend confirm that the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations requires all diplomats to pay all charges, taxes and fines for which they are liable, and that that includes the congestion charge?

My noble friend is right, and it is the Government’s position, consistent with that of the previous Government, that these are charges, not taxes, and should be paid.

My noble friend is right, and it is the Government’s position, consistent with that of the previous Government, that these are charges, not taxes, and should be paid.

I am grateful to the Minister for her reply to me and to the noble Lord a week or so ago. If you add unpaid parking fines to the £150 million owed in congestion charges, the figure goes up to nearly £300 million, which is a staggering amount; that could be put to transformational use by TfL. Is the Minister aware that when the current Labour Mayor was elected 10 years ago, he said that he would make this a key priority? Does she agree that it is time for him to help her and the Government get a grip?

I am grateful to the Minister for her reply to me and to the noble Lord a week or so ago. If you add unpaid parking fines to the £150 million owed in congestion charges, the figure goes up to nearly £300 million, which is a staggering amount; that could be put to transformational use by TfL. Is the Minister aware that when the current Labour Mayor was elected 10 years ago, he said that he would make this a key priority? Does she agree that it is time for him to help her and the Government get a grip?

I detect some co-ordination across the House this afternoon. We consider these to be debts, and we would like them to be paid. Like TfL and the Mayor of London, we continue to use our diplomatic best efforts to bring that about.

I detect some co-ordination across the House this afternoon. We consider these to be debts, and we would like them to be paid. Like TfL and the Mayor of London, we continue to use our diplomatic best efforts to bring that about.

My Lords, one of the highlights of the diplomatic calendar in London is the Foreign Office diplomatic reception. Given that many of those attending will be those who have refused to pay, should we not start instituting a drop-off and collection fee at King Charles Street, just until we get our money back? Given that, as the noble Lord said, the United States is possibly the biggest offender and that President Trump would certainly not want a reputation of not paying fines, when he comes for the state visit, can we ensure that this is part of the agenda, so that there is no congestion in the city of London from the American delegation and they pay us what they owe?

My Lords, one of the highlights of the diplomatic calendar in London is the Foreign Office diplomatic reception. Given that many of those attending will be those who have refused to pay, should we not start instituting a drop-off and collection fee at King Charles Street, just until we get our money back? Given that, as the noble Lord said, the United States is possibly the biggest offender and that President Trump would certainly not want a reputation of not paying fines, when he comes for the state visit, can we ensure that this is part of the agenda, so that there is no congestion in the city of London from the American delegation and they pay us what they owe?

There are a whole range of measures that we can consider, and I certainly take on board the one that the noble Lord

has mentioned. Others include encouraging the use of public transport, cycling or walking around our wonderful city. But he suggests that we raise these matters directly with our counterparts and I can assure him that we do just that.

There are a whole range of measures that we can consider, and I certainly take on board the one that the noble Lord

has mentioned. Others include encouraging the use of public transport, cycling or walking around our wonderful city. But he suggests that we raise these matters directly with our counterparts and I can assure him that we do just that.

On that point, is it the Government’s position that when President Trump comes on his state visit, he should personally have to pay the congestion charge when he travels around in his rather heavy vehicle?

On that point, is it the Government’s position that when President Trump comes on his state visit, he should personally have to pay the congestion charge when he travels around in his rather heavy vehicle?

My Lords, I am always grateful to my noble friend for his wit and the charm with which he brings his points to this Chamber. I will leave the finer points of the arrangements for the visit of President Trump to the relevant officials in the Foreign Office.

My Lords, I am always grateful to my noble friend for his wit and the charm with which he brings his points to this Chamber. I will leave the finer points of the arrangements for the visit of President Trump to the relevant officials in the Foreign Office.

My Lords, I think there is unity across the House on this one. We are all amused by the prospect of some poor parking warden having to put a ticket on President Trump’s limousine and what might happen to him following the actions of the Secret Service. The conduct of diplomatic staff is a reflection of important values: respect, dignity and mutual recognition between nations. Following on from the reply the Minister gave to the Liberal Democrats, will she consider linking future privileges or engagement opportunities to the good standing of diplomatic missions in their civic responsibilities, so as to encourage greater accountability?

My Lords, I think there is unity across the House on this one. We are all amused by the prospect of some poor parking warden having to put a ticket on President Trump’s limousine and what might happen to him following the actions of the Secret Service. The conduct of diplomatic staff is a reflection of important values: respect, dignity and mutual recognition between nations. Following on from the reply the Minister gave to the Liberal Democrats, will she consider linking future privileges or engagement opportunities to the good standing of diplomatic missions in their civic responsibilities, so as to encourage greater accountability?

We keep these things under close consideration but, as the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, said when he addressed this issue during the very last Question of the last Parliament—his last appearance on this side of the House—our diplomats are the best in the world and we entrust them to raise these issues as appropriate. We are starting to see some, I admit small, contributions towards meeting this debt and I think that is the right approach for now.

We keep these things under close consideration but, as the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, said when he addressed this issue during the very last Question of the last Parliament—his last appearance on this side of the House—our diplomats are the best in the world and we entrust them to raise these issues as appropriate. We are starting to see some, I admit small, contributions towards meeting this debt and I think that is the right approach for now.

My Lords, it is tempting to suggest that when the American President arrives, we call them not charges but tariffs, as that seems to be a word he finds much more popular. More seriously, can the Minister assure us that, at the same time as we are trying to crack down on diplomats in this country, British diplomats and their staff overseas are correctly paying all fines, charges and other tariffs that they are supposed to pay?

My Lords, it is tempting to suggest that when the American President arrives, we call them not charges but tariffs, as that seems to be a word he finds much more popular. More seriously, can the Minister assure us that, at the same time as we are trying to crack down on diplomats in this country, British diplomats and their staff overseas are correctly paying all fines, charges and other tariffs that they are supposed to pay?

I am happy to confirm that. As the right reverend Prelate would expect, our diplomatic staff, wherever they are stationed around the world, act to the highest of standards.

I am happy to confirm that. As the right reverend Prelate would expect, our diplomatic staff, wherever they are stationed around the world, act to the highest of standards.