Overview
- Ministers are consulting on a binding Private Parking Code of Practice launched in July, with officials saying the consultation closes next week before rapid implementation work begins.
- Private firms issued a record 14.4 million tickets in the year to March, while Q2 alone saw 4.3 million penalties—up 24% year on year—equating to about 48,000 a day and roughly £5 million in daily fines.
- Government data shows DVLA keeper-data requests by parking companies have climbed from 1.9 million in 2012 to 12.8 million in 2024, enabling large-scale enforcement.
- Newly highlighted council figures show £2.3 billion in annual parking income and about £1.1 billion profit after costs, with an estimated 82,000 parking officers nationwide outnumbering 73,490 full-time soldiers.
- Which? urges a £50 cap, clearer signage, consideration of mitigating circumstances, limits on debt-recovery add-ons, and a single independent appeals service, while the BPA backs retaining a £100 cap and the £70 debt fee as a deterrent.