Annex C - Financial Assessment
Explanatory Memorandum to The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (County Borough of Torfaen) Designation Order 2019
This Explanatory Memorandum has been prepared by the Department for Economic Infrastructure and is laid before the National Assembly for Wales in conjunction with the above subordinate legislation and in accordance with Standing Order 27.1.
Minister’s Declaration
In my view, this Explanatory Memorandum gives a fair and reasonable view of the expected impact of The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (County Borough of Torfaen) Designation Order 2019. I am satisfied that the benefits outweigh any costs.
Ken Skates
Minister for Economy and Transport
6 June 2019
1. Description
The Order will enable Torfaen County Borough Council (“the Council”) to enforce civil parking restrictions within the County Borough. It will apply to all public highways except those listed in Annex A below. Non-endorsable offences, such as parking on double yellow lines, would become civil enforcement matters for the local authority as opposed to being enforced by the Police as criminal offences. The enforcement duty would in practice pass from Gwent Police to the Council and from traffic wardens to civil enforcement officers (“CEOs”) employed by the Council.
2. Matters of special interest to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee
None.
3. Legislative Background
The powers enabling this Instrument to be made are under paragraph 8(1) of Schedule 8 and paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 10, to the Traffic Management Act 2004 (the “Act”). This gives a local authority the power to enforce parking restrictions within their area under a civil regime set out in the Act. This power has been vested with the Welsh Ministers by virtue of section 162 of, and paragraph 30 of Schedule 11 to, the Government of Wales Act 2006.
This instrument follows the negative procedure.
4. Purpose and intended effect of the legislation
Currently in the County Borough of Torfaen the Gwent Police enforce parking restrictions. This takes time that could be better utilised tackling other criminal activities. This Order will allow for the enforcement responsibility to pass from the Police to the Council thus enabling the Council to enforce civil parking restrictions within the County Borough. Under this system non-endorsable offences would become the subject of civil recovery procedures. The Council would be able to issue penalty charge notices where, for example, a vehicle has been parked on double yellow lines or has not paid a parking charge in contravention of a traffic order. Reduced charges will apply where payment is made within a prescribed period. The Council would like to set their penalty charge at £70 for higher level contraventions and £50 for lower level contraventions, discounted to £35 and £25 respectively for early payment. The Council would also be able to immobilise such a vehicle, although it has stated that these powers will be held in reserve and they do not intend to introduce this at the start of civil enforcement.
The Council have stated that it has no immediate plans to apply for powers for moving traffic contraventions or bus lane enforcement.
If the legislation were to be annulled the Council would be unable to implement the power to enforce civil parking restrictions. They have requested these powers with the full support of the Gwent Police. Their implementation will relieve the Gwent Police from these duties thus freeing up valuable Police time and resources to tackle other criminal activities.
This Instrument has a coming into force date of 1 July 2019 as requested by the Council. The self-financing nature of this scheme should mean that the Council can devote more resources to parking enforcement than the Gwent Police, who, with their many other more pressing duties, have often been unable to do so. Better enforcement reduces congestion caused by drivers searching for on-street parking places, and results in better turnover of on-street spaces, as drivers become less willing to overstay as the risk of getting a ticket increases. In addition, greater enforcement of on-street parking restrictions should lead to increased usage of paid parking spaces, particularly off-street.
Unlike the clamping of vehicles in private car parks, clamping in relation to the civil enforcement of parking is regulated under the Act. The immobilisation of vehicles must adhere to The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (General Provisions) (Wales) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013 No. 362) and The Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Guidelines on Levels of Charges) (Wales) Order 2013 (SI 2013 No. 1969) ), which define when and how an immobilisation device may be fixed to a vehicle, and the charge payable for its release.
Enforcement will be carried out by CEOs. The Council can directly employ these CEOs or they can be an employee of a contractor appointed to undertake such activity. It is a matter for the Council to decide whether civil enforcement operations are undertaken by employees of the Council or by authorised staff of contractors. Either way the requirements of the above Regulations must equally be met in each case. The Council have confirmed that they will undertake civil enforcement operations themselves but in order to reduce costs associated with the administration of civil parking enforcement, the Council intends to partner with Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council (“RCTCBC”) to produce the necessary forms, notices, letters, etc.
Drivers receiving a Penalty Charge Notice from a CEO will be able to challenge it by making representations to trained officers employed by RCTCBC, acting under the direction of the Council. Independent adjudication for drivers who are unhappy with the Council’s decision will be provided by the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
5. Consultation
The Council consulted with all the relevant stakeholders in August 2018. A list of the consultees and responses is at Annex B. Full details of the consultation are included in paragraph 8 of the Regulatory Impact Assessment.
REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
6. Options
Option 1: Do Nothing. If the legislation were not made the Council would be unable to implement the power to enforce civil parking restrictions in 2019. The Council has requested these powers with the full support of the Gwent Police. Their introduction will relieve the Gwent Police from these duties thus freeing up valuable Police time and resources to tackle other criminal activities. There could be criticism for using Police resources for parking offences when they could be better utilised dealing with other criminal activities.
Option 2: Implement the provisions with effect from 1 July 2019. Making the legislation would allow the Council to implement the power to enforce civil parking restrictions thereby freeing up the Police to deal with other criminal matters. Full consultation as described below has been carried out to ensure that no specific group will be discriminated against by the legislation.
7. Costs and benefits
a) Costs
Option 1 – Do Nothing.
If the provisions are not implemented the costs will remain with Gwent Police who, due to more pressing duties, will be unable to devote sufficient resources to tackle the identified contraventions that the Council could if taking over these powers..
Option 2 – Implement the provisions from 1 July 2019.
There are no financial implications for the Welsh Government or other local authorities in providing a local authority with civil enforcement of parking contravention powers.
The costs of the scheme will be borne by the Council in collaboration with RCTCBC. The Council has expressed confidence that the full financial impact of operating civil enforcement of parking contraventions CPE as a whole has been considered and accounted for in their budget setting process. The forecasted operational cost of civil enforcement takes account of the estimated revenue raised from the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices. The Council has provided funding to cover the start up costs of the scheme. A full 5 year projected financial assessment by the Council can be found at Annex C.
The Council would like to set their penalty charge at £70 for higher level contraventions and £50 for lower level contraventions, discounted to £35 and £25 respectively for early payment. Drivers receiving a penalty charge notice will be able to challenge it by making representations to the Council. Independent adjudication must be available to drivers who remain unhappy with the Council’s decision. The Traffic Penalty Tribunal will provide this service.
b) Benefits
We have identified the benefits for each option as follows:
Option 1 – Do Nothing.
There are no benefits.
Option 2 – Implement the provisions from 1 July 2019.
The current need for parking, particularly within town centre areas is placing significant pressure on some on and off street parking areas.
The Council recognises that it is important to improve the enforcement of parking in town centres and to improve the current operation of the network by removing illegal parking on-street to allow free-flow of traffic through towns.
The Council state that the successful acquisition of civil parking enforcement powers has the capacity to deliver significant positive impacts to the wellbeing of current and future generations who live, visit or conduct business within the County Borough and contribute to the Council’s Well-being Objectives and the Well-being Goals by (amongst other things) -
Borough;
· promoting the expeditious movement of traffic and as such have a
positive impact on traffic congestion reduction;
· reducing costs to business, residents and visitors to the County
Borough associated with travel congestion and parking
contraventions;
· delivering new employment opportunities with the County Borough; and
· promoting well connected communities through reduced vehicular
obstruction and inconsiderate parking.
8. Consultation
In accordance with the relevant guidelines, before submitting their application the Council consulted with all the relevant stakeholders in August 2018. A list of the consultees and responses is at Annex B. In addition to local councils the consultees included bus operators and motoring organisations. The Council is committed to fully informing the public of the proposed changes to the parking enforcement and they will be launching a comprehensive publicity programme prior to the proposed commencement date. This will include the use of their website, press releases and a general distribution of posters and leaflets.
On receipt of the Council’s application, and in accordance with the relevant legislation, the Welsh Government consulted with Gwent Police and the Traffic Enforcement Centre. No objections were received.
9. Post implementation review
The effect of the Order will be monitored by way of an annual return from the Council to the Welsh Government. This will include the financial results of civil parking enforcement and any action the Council will take in respect of any deficit on the on-street parking account.
10. Summary
The Council, in collaboration with RCTCBC, will bear the costs of the proposals as detailed in the Costs paragraph 7a) above. The powers will enable the Council to adopt a more thorough and visible enforcement of parking contraventions. By relieving the Gwent Police from such responsibilities this will free up their time to devote themselves to dealing with other criminal activities. The implementation of the Order is consistent with applications made by 19 other local authorities in Wales who have already achieved such powers.
ANNEX A
This Order applies to the County Borough of Torfaen with the exception of —
(a) the length of the A4042 Trunk Road within the County Borough, from the boundary with the City of Newport to the boundary with the County of Monmouthshire.
ANNEX B
SCHEDULE OF CONSULTATION
|
Organisation |
Response |
|
The AA |
No response |
|
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council |
No response |
|
Bus Operators |
Supported |
|
Caerphilly County Borough Council |
Supported |
|
Confederation of Passenger Transport |
Supported |
|
DVLA Swansea |
No response |
|
Freight Transport Association |
No response |
|
Gwent Police |
No response |
|
Monmouthshire County Council |
No response |
|
Newport City Council |
No response |
|
Road Haulage Association |
No response |
|
The Royal Automobile Club |
No response |
|
South Welsh Ambulance Service |
No response |
|
South Wales Chamber of Commerce |
No response |
|
South Wales Fire & Rescue Service |
No response |
|
Sustrans Cymru |
Supported |
|
Traffic Enforcement Centre (TEC) |
No response |
|
Traffic Penalty Tribunal (TPT) |
No response |
|
Welsh Government |
No comments |
Annex C - Financial Assessment
Paul,
I write with reference to your letter of 24th August
requesting comments with regards to the change of parking
enforcement legislation in Torfaen from the Police to the local
authority.
I would note that in general, Stagecoach is
supportive of such applications, and in places where the local
authority already has such powers (for example, RCT) works closely
with them to target areas where bus flow is impeded by poor parking
and ensure that services may continue to operate reliably.
Our concern would be that the authority should also
apply for powers to enforce bus lanes and moving traffic violations
at the same time - I note that these powers are available, and
whilst it may not be appropriate to enforce any of the
infrastructure in Torfaen at present, in the future it would
prevent separate application and allow for easy extension of the
scheme. To give an example, if the bus lane at the Avondale
Rd (Ashbridge) roundabout were enforced, this would speed bus
journey times at peak, where cars illegally queue in the
infrastructure.
If we can be of any further assistance, please don't
hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards
David
David
Conway
Operations
Director
Stagecoach in South Wales
1 St David's
Road
Cwmbran
Torfaen NP44 1PD
Dear Paul
I write with reference to your letter of 24th August requesting comments with regards to the change of parking enforcement legislation in Torfaen from the Police to the local authority.
The Confederation of Passenger Transport Wales (CPTCymru) is the professional trade association of the bus, coach and light rail industry in Wales and is part of CPT UK. Its members in Wales include operators which are subsidiaries of large national transport operators, municipally owned operators, large independents and small family businesses. CPTCymru members provide around 90% of all bus journeys and around 75% of all public transport journeys made across Wales. Its members are also significant employers with 5100 full time employees in Wales, including many in rural areas.
Its governance includes the Bus and Coach Commissions Cymru and also its Committee for Wales, which all members may attend, and members are consulted widely on the whole range of issues affecting road based public transport.
In general CPT Cymru is supportive of the authorities application to Welsh Government to obtain the powers to undertake Civil Parking Enforcement under decriminalised parking arrangements authorised by the Traffic Management Act 2004, we would encourage the authority however to also apply for powers to enforce bus lanes and moving traffic violations at the same time, powers which are available. This would remove the need to submit any additional application in the future and allow for an easy extension of the scheme, and greatly assist operators in maintaining service reliability within the area.
If you require any more information from CPT Cymru please feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Colin Thomas
General Manager, CPT Wales
Hi Paul,
Thanks for including us in this consultation. We would very much support your application and have a view that local parking issues are much better dealt with by local people who know the local issues rather than going into the police and it potential being forgotten because they have other priorities. This process appears to have improved things in Cardiff and I understand that Newport City council are proposing similar messages.
During our work for a number of authorities auditing routes for both the Existing routes Map (ERM) and the Integrated Network Map (INM), as part of the active travel process , many routes could have been improved instantly, especially for walkers, people with pushchairs and young children and disabled people by removing pavement parking and the blocking of dropped Kerbed areas. So we would especially support areas of this enforcement (although I appreciate the pavement parking law appears to be confusing).
I also think there are potentially huge cost saving to be made by reducing pavement parking, especially by large vehicles because of the damage they cause to surfaces and possibly the services below.
Going forward I think that fines should be set to be in line with neighbouring authorities and other authorities should also embrace this process. I don’t see why people could potentially be fined for offences in one street and get away scot free in the next street over because it’s in another authority.
…And finally could a proportion of the fines be set aside for active travel/pavement enhancements and repairs?
Good luck with the process.
Gwyn
Gwyn Smith
Network Development Manager (South Wales)/Rheolwr Datblygu Rhwydwaith (De Cymru)
Sustrans Cymru
123 Bute Street / 123 Stryd Bute
Cardiff / Caerdydd
CF10 5AE
 |
Appendix D - Confirmation of Council’s Legal Title
Torfaen County Borough Council confirms its legal title to be “Torfaen County Borough Council” in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994) Section 20 and Part II of Schedule 4.
Appendix E – Council Decisions and Resolutions
Report to Cabinet – 5 June 2018: Civil Parking Enforcement
Minutes/decision
