Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the Streets Ahead campaign by the charity Guide Dogs; what steps he is taking to reduce parking on pavements; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill

In London, there is in general a ban on parking on the footway. Outside London, local authorities have wide-ranging powers to make Traffic Regulation Orders to prohibit pavement parking on designated lengths of highway or over a wide area. The former Transport Minister, the Hon Member for Lewes, Norman Baker, wrote to local authorities in February 2011 urging them to take up these powers. Local authorities with Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) powers are responsible for parking enforcement, including that relating to the footway.

In addition, the Department has developed and authorised new traffic signs for local authorities to use where pavement parking is prohibited.

With regard to the number of parking tickets issued, individual local authorities are required to keep records of all penalty charge notices issued. The Department for Transport does not record this information centrally.