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Councils told to make parking fairer

Parking fees and fines from local authorities must become both easier to understand and more fair, the government has said.

Issuing new guidelines for parking enforcement last week, transport minister Rosie Winterton said that "public confidence" in traffic wardens was very important.

Along with tax, petrol, car insurance and any car loans repayments, being ticketed is one of the biggest financial drains a motorist can face.

Therefore, apparently unfair and arbitrary fines have been a big source of public frustration.

The new regulations issued to councils from the government bans the use of ticketing to raise revenue - and also says that there must not be targets for numbers of tickets issued.

Local authorities will also be obliged to publish and publicise their penalty charges framework.

Ms Winterton added: "The government has been quite clear that parking enforcement must be fair, clear, consistent and based on robust evidence - we want to increase public confidence in parking."

The new rules come into force at the end of the month.

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