London Councils consults on cost of PCNs

Boroughs argue higher penalties will restore deterrent value

London Councils is consulting on increasing the level of penalty charges for parking and traffic contraventions on roads controlled by all the capital’s boroughs, including the City of London.

London Councils’ Transport and Environment Committee is responsible for setting parking, bus lane and moving traffic penalty charges on borough roads. The consultation focusses on penalty charge notices (PCNs) relating to parking and traffic enforcement and other additional fees relating to parking.

The committee has not reviewed parking, bus lane and moving traffic penalty charges since 2010 and many of the current charges and additional fees have not changed since 2007.

The number of PCNs issued in London has increased by 50% over the last 12 years and London boroughs are concerned that the current penalty charge levels are not high enough to encourage compliance and act as a deterrent.

London Councils says there are examples of people choosing to park where they are not allowed to despite knowing they will receive a penalty charge.

The impact of inflation on penalty charge levels has meant that there has been a reduction in the real value of these charges and additional fees over time. The costs to London boroughs for providing a parking and traffic management service have also increased significantly since 2011, says the committee.

The capital is split into roads controlled by London boroughs and those controlled by Transport for London (TfL), which has similar responsibilities to London boroughs for setting penalty charges on their own roads – the Transport for London Route Network (TLRN), or Red Routes. In 2022, following a consultation in 2021, TfL increased parking, bus lane and moving traffic penalty charges on the roads they manage from £130 to £160. The current maximum penalty charge level for contraventions on borough roads remains at £130.

Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville, London Councils’ exec-

Councils should improve signage, says RAC

Increasing the cost of penalty charge notices is opposed by the RAC.

The motoring association’s head of policy Simon Williams said: “We can see no justification whatsoever for putting up these fines. It’s bizarre that we’re now getting to the stage where a driver can be fined almost as much for an innocent mistake as they are for dangerously driving using a handheld mobile phone.

“There’s surely only one reason why any council would need penalty charge levels to rise to keep up with inflation – and that’s if they rely on the income they receive from drivers breaking the rules. This is inherently wrong and needs to change.

“Instead of relying on the revenue, councils should be trying to understand the reasons why people are being caught out and improving signage, but this is never going to happen as it would cost them money and reduce their income.

“This is very much the case with yellow box junctions as many aren’t fit for purpose as they don’t comply with government guidance, meaning drivers end up getting fined needlessly. There also appears to be not a scrap of evidence that adding another £30 to what drivers pay if they drive in a bus lane or stop in a yellow box will make any difference when it comes to the number of contraventions as such a high proportion are innocent mistakes.”