New CPE legislations to Parking industry and changes?

What do the new Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) legislations mean to motorists and the parking industry?

Most motorists will not notice any real change to on-street parking, apart from the differential charges, but there is a real shift in the philosophy aimed at making the regulations appear more legitimate and introducing greater transparency and fairness for all - not just the motorist.  The parking industry will benefit from the greater transparency, and hopefully recognition that this is not all about income generation, but proper management of the streets in the UK, where 30 million cars are registered. 

Civil Parking Enforcement is a legal process - it sets the law on how Civil Parking Enforcement should be carried out.  We hope that the changes will improve the public's perception of parking enforcement - through educating them about the reasons for local parking restrictions, and getting them to accept that parking enforcement is necessary.  Greater publicity and awareness of the new regulations will help the motorist ensure that they park where they can and avoid penalties.

What are the key reasons for the changes?

The three key reasons are legitimacy, transparency and fairness.

•  Legitimacy - This means that enforcement is for the right reasons: street management; to reduce congestion and the potential for road casualties, and to manage the kerb space where there are competing demands.  The new regulations make it clear that Local Authorities and other enforcement agencies should not use CPE as an income generator;
•  Transparency - This means there is a need for Local Authorities and others to be open about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and the consequences of their actions.  For example, all Local Authorities are required to produce an annual report including its parking policy, method of enforcement and publish statistics such as the number of penalty charge notices issued, the number cancelled, the income generated and details of how any surplus income has been used to benefit the local community;
•  Fairness - The new regulations have introduced Differential Penalties and improved protection available for those on the 'front line' of parking enforcement - the Civil Enforcement Officer. This will be most welcome and should go a long way towards making parking management firmer but fairer.  The motorist will benefit from having the Penalty Charge more closely aligned with the seriousness of the contravention.