Column 16 February 2022 - Changes to private parking rules

Last week saw the culmination of something which I have campaigned for over many years, as the Government published its new Code of Practice for private car park operators. These new measures will be very good news for motorists and go some way to reducing the number of Parking Charge Notices received.

Private car parks feature all around Mid-Cornwall, and there are many reputable and well-run local operations. But sadly, there are also others, often run by faceless national organisations, that behave poorly and often fine car park users for minor or accidental breaches. These firms can often be incredibly inflexible and officious in imposing strict and unclear terms and conditions and will not listen to reasonable points when genuine mistakes have been made.

I am regularly contacted by both visitors and local people who have been stung by these unfair charges. For residents, this can result in people being discouraged from parking in and using their town centres, and in the case of visitors, these experiences can ruin a holiday and lead to them not coming back to Cornwall in the future. Both cause ripple effects that impact on many other local businesses while the parking firms rake in the fines.

The Government’s changes in this area have been being planned for some time, understandably delayed by the pandemic but were announced last week and operators have until next year to apply them.  

I first supported them when they came forward as a Private Members Bill in 2018 and subsequently sat on the Bill Committee in Parliament where the government backed the bill, to ensure this legislation was given the detailed scrutiny and input that it deserved.

At the time, evidence showed that, private firms issued roughly 22,000 parking tickets every day, and parking firms were issuing almost 13 times more tickets than a decade ago. often adopting a system of misleading and confusing signage, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees designed to extort money from motorists.

In the face of this evidence, the Parking (Code of Practice) Act was subsequently passed by Parliament and became law in 2019, which meant the Government could then consult widely on the contents of its Code of Practice.

This in turn led to the announcement last week of the Parking Code of Practice

The Code includes a maximum cap for parking fines, a 10-minute grace period before a late fine can be issued, and a requirement for parking firms to clearly display pricing and terms and conditions.

In England outside of London and in Wales, charges will be reduced from £100 to £70 or £50, depending on the seriousness of the breach.

Private firms which breach the new Code could even be barred from collecting fines from motorists at all.

Currently, private parking firms are able to hide behind non-specific, pseudo-legal and aggressive language when pursuing motorists. The Code of Practice will provide new higher standards.

Firms which break these rules could be barred from requesting Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data, making them unable to pursue motorists for their charges through the post.

A new, simpler appeals process is also being created, to make it easier for disputed fines to be cancelled.

This is an issue on which I have spent many years campaigning for change and it is pleasing to see the work I and other MPs have put in, bringing about real positive change at last.

I hope that these sensible and practical changes will provide better regulation for an industry that does need it and will reduce the number of miserable experiences that people have when they are unfairly fined when using private carparks both around Cornwall and across the UK in the future.

 

Newspaper column 9 February 2022 - Support for energy bills

Last week saw two important announcements for Cornwall.

The first was the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper and it was good to see Cornwall feature significantly in this.

But the announcement I want to focus on this week is the financial support for energy bills.

The cost of all energy, commodities and the cost of living has increased following the reopening of economies across the globe and I am aware of the impact this is having on household bills.

We must be honest that there are limited levers the government has to deal with these global problems. It is only our Government’s energy price caps that has kept electricity prices down to their current level. They would have been much higher, much sooner without it.

With that being said, the increases are now going to happen. Ofgem has confirmed that the energy price cap will rise by almost £700 per year from April.

Our Government has already taken steps to help which has included reducing the Universal Credit taper rate, which means those in work and on Universal Credit will keep up to £1,000 a year more of the money they earn, increasing the National Living Wage, freezing fuel duty for the twelfth year in a row, and launching a £500 million Household Support Fund to help the lowest-income households with their bills.

But we recognise that we must go further to help families with pressures from the increasing energy bills.

Along with my colleagues in Parliament I have been working with the Chancellor Rishi Sunak and his Treasury team to explore ways in which the Government can help offset these rises.

Last Thursday I was pleased to see the Chancellor announce the Energy Bills Rebate, which will help households across the constituency with £9billion of support measures.

These measures include a £200 ‘smoothing’ rebate on energy bills for households, to be recovered over the next five years at £40 per year – starting from April 2023.

They will also see a £150 cash rebate for homes in Council Tax bands A-D,  which is 80% of all households, helping both lower and middle-income families.

Cornwall Council will also be provided with a discretionary fund of nearly £150m to help lower income households in higher Council Tax bands, and households in bands A-D who are exempt from Council Tax.

The Chancellor has also confirmed that he will expand eligibility for Warm Homes Discount by a third, so that 3 million vulnerable households will now benefit from that scheme which provides a further £140 reduction in bills.

Other political parties’ proposals are less generous and far slower to reach households – and they can’t pay for them.

Their plans are less generous for those not on benefits – hard-working, middle-income families. Most middle-income households – those who don’t receive means-tested benefits – would only benefit by £89 through temporarily removing VAT. But under this Government’s plans, middle-income households will benefit by £350, all households will receive the £200 smoothing rebate, and 80 per cent of households, excluding the wealthiest, will receive the £150 council tax rebate.

Our approach gets more help to those who need it most – and faster. The council tax rebate is worth £3.6 billion and reducing VAT would not be targeted meaning it would benefit wealthy households. The Chancellor’s Energy Bills Rebate focusses on all low and middle-income families – not just those who receive benefits.

This announcement is great news for people across the constituency, who have been concerned about the cost of living increases. As a firm believer that Government money should be distributed fairly, I am also delighted to have been given assurances from the Chancellor, who I spoke to before these measures were announced, that the council tax discounts will not apply to second home owners. 

As always, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance. Please do get in touch if I can help – tel. 01726 829379, email – office@stevedouble.org.uk