03/02/2017 House of Commons

So, again, in this situation such as that, yes that might happen, but not

actually driven by the people in the locality who want the item, that you

are asking for, if you see what I mean. What you have got is somebody

else setting the rules. Bringing local accountability, giving people

within councils into the authority is the ability to set those rates

then click that revenue is really something that I would welcome. At

the moment, the ability to do that is a long winded process of two

years for you how to apply for various changes in legislation and

so on. Take Bury St Edmunds. I had 550 long-stay car park uses last

year and 1.38 7 million short stay. This is a town of 40,000. We have

problems in the medieval grade. I was really pleased to see the master

plan come out this week in which it was spoken that we would have a

policy whereby we took varying procedures into account in order to

stop the off-street parking that blight so many people's lives,

particularly in the medieval quarter of the time. It must be that we

provide solutions in this place and we give local councils the ability

to set the right solution. This report encourages a blend of

pedestrian first recommendations in order to restore and keep the

medieval grade for pedestrians, tourists, shoppers and residents.

The small size of our grid, which is not only beautiful but historic,

needs attention in order to make sure that parking does not blight

it. I agree with you, we have a vibrant economic environment, people

need to park and work, and we have, luckily, a wonderful tourist

attraction in the town and that draws people to it. That is

juxtaposed against the market towns that very much need the flexibility

of doing it. What concerns with this amendment is that we are using our

sledgehammer to crack a nut -- crack a nut. My honourable friend pointed

out, it does seem to be an amendment that does what it does within the

body of the bill. I think the honourable lady for giving away.

There are provisions for local authorities to increase parking

charges. What all this does is to restrict this bill to be reducing

prices, there would still be powerless to increase car park

charges, that would still be there. Fine, but that still pictures back

to the point made earlier that isn't that already contained within the

body of the bill, so aren't we adding a little bit of jam to what

is already in the cake. Mr Speaker, I am grateful for you

calling me at what has been a debate. I congratulate my honourable

friend for bringing this to the house. I hope that I can convince

him and my honourable friends that he will not be... I do hope that I

can do that. I have to tell the house and the honourable member for

Torbay that when the committee met on Wednesday, there were no

amendments. The bill was reported to the house unamended, so this is a

somewhat late entry in the race. And was not a member of the bill

committee so could not move the bill to committee stage so the

opportunity to raise this ad report stage, just to clarify that. I feel

I am in error because I should have clearly as my honourable friend to

join the committee. I think he would have made it a major contribution.

One of the privileges of having a private member's bill is that one

does have some influence on the membership of the committee and it

is good to see my honourable friend who served on the committee and say

that the committee examined with some care the bill. Mr Speaker, when

I spoke at the end of the second reading debate in November, I said

that I could not in all honestly say that this modest to clause bill

would improve the quality of life in every city and town in this country.

I also said that I am grateful for the government supports and I am

pleased to see my honourable friend, the member for Nuneaton in his place

today. I also see the opposition spokesman in his place on the front

bench and as he will know his party were supportive of this measure in

committee. I hope that we can continue to have his support today.

This bill is very simple. My honourable friend the member for

Christchurch, who is not known as a great friend of private member's

legislation, whispered in my year one day, being a very educated man

and a classical scholar perhaps, said it was her day minimus spill

that I interpreted had very little in it. That was the point of this. I

was number five on the list. Having decided to run with this issue, it

had to be as simple bill that appeals to all sides of the house.

And not something that was going to attract controversy and encourage

colleagues to speak for perhaps a long time on the bill and impede

progress. . I described this as a Santa Claus bill as we were in the

run-up to Christmas, because the first and perhaps most important

provision of this bill is that it allows councils to reduce parking

charges about giving a 21 day notice in the local newspaper or in the

media. As I will develop this point in my speech, I think this is

increasingly a really important for local councils to have flexibility

and I will explain why in a moment. It doesn't actually affect the

charges themselves. I was somewhat stunned when I went into the shop in

the house to see Santa Christmas holding the Santa act as a Christmas

decoration for the tree. Clearly, I have been able to inspire somebody

to produce this Christmas decoration. I can issued you Mr

Speaker, being a slightly superstitious member, I would not

conceive of putting that on the tree until it had been passed as an

actor. Whether and to what extent the honourable gentleman indulges in

retail therapy, and what assessment he has made of the aesthetic

measures in the shopper window as a matter I think of consuming almost

intoxicating interest to members of the house. I question if it is

altogether relevant to the subject matter which is supposed to be under

discussion. I feel sure he will have a response.

I am flattered that you should bring me back to this point and asked me

to explain myself. I crave your indulgence because they did in error

produce the Christmas decoration and was rightly called to order because

we cannot use devices enable speeches. I am wary of your own

determination to maintain procedures so I did not venture to do that

today. The point I'm trying to make, Mr Speaker, is that this bill came

about as the Santa Claus bill, is something that brings about a lot of

and can be used particularly in the run-up to run-up to Christmas to

help people in the shopping, whereas previously the councils would be not

able to act quickly to respond to situations. I will deliver that

point any more. I will move on to say that my own local council, in

Hinckley, just across the board from my honourable friend, has many car

parks. It will certainly have an impact on the way that Hinckley and

Bosworth Borough Council implements parking in the future. Hinckley has

been very successful as a town centre, most recently being a

finalist in the Great British High Street competition. And

cost-effective parking for a time they can achieve that success. He is

right to talk about the success of times. Would he agree that is why it

is so important that we are clear that this bill is about varying

charges down, not by varying the map? I am glad my honourable friend

has intervened. He represents a beautiful seaside town, Torbay. In

fact, I knew his Conservative predecessor years ago who was also

passionately concerned about the Tyne. He was known as spy 13 because

of his other job, which was writing spy novels and I wish him well if he

is tuning into this debate. He is doing the right thing for his

constituency, may I say to my honourable friend, in Torbay where

parking is clearly going to be critical. I can assure him that B

looks a clause this bill is about enabling councils to reduced

charges. In the future they would have to go to the expense of

reducing the charges by publishing the notice in local newspapers. With

the honourable friend give way? Thank you. Isn't that come in a

nutshell, we really don't need to press this moment because it is that

flexibility, the fact that in the market they can charge a pine for

two hours, in Bury St Edmunds the produce the fees on a Tuesday

afternoon. Local solutions to local issues to stimulate the High Street.

I am grateful to my honourable friend. But I think for comparison,

I would just make clear what these two clauses do. The first clause

provides for a path of government to provides for a path of government to

make regulations that simplify the procedure to be followed for

lowering parking charges. At present, councils must give 24 days

per litigation and put signage in the car park if they want to lower

their charges. The private sector, on the other hand, can take a

business decision to lower without going through this process. To give

councils flexibility to reduce their charges, this clause would allow my

honourable friend to simplify this requirement putting local

authorities on an even footing with the private sector. So my honourable

friend for Torbay has not picked up on this point, but he might like to,

which is the fact that this gives councils flexibility to reduce their

charges and puts them on an even footing with the private sector. I

am sure my honourable friend may have spoken about this, had he

thought about it. He might want to come back to it on the fact that

this will put things on an even footing with the private sector.

Accept the valid points he makes. A private sector operator can change

the signs overnight if they wish to change the prices in a car park,

where as a council has to go through a very long procedure. But would he

agree with me that councils are meant to be bodies charged with

delivering the public good in an area rather than just a company that

is looking to make as much money as it can offer the asset it owns? I

honourable friend is hopefully leading me to an area I am going to

talk about, which is the impact of pricing on car parking charges

generally. But I would make this further point. It is equally

important that councils should consider the effect of increased

parking charges on the high street. To that end, the clause makes

provision for a consultation requirements of the councils take on

the views of local businesses and residents when they are looking to

increase parking charges on an existing traffic order. They must

already consult on a traffic order. However, it is proportionate to

expect them to consult if they are raising charges during the life of

the traffic order. So my honourable friend, who has been probing the

probing amendment, I said to my four for Torbay, there no fear here that

this bill is going to increase parking charges. It cannot do that.

I would resist my honourable friend the minister's potential to spring

to the dispatch box, because I know he will make a speech later. He is

nodding his head to reassure me that I haven't put anything in this bill

which will allow local authorities to increase charges, but simply

saying that they need to ask people before they contemplate such a

measure. Am grateful to my honourable friend for giving way.

His seat of Bosworth, the A5 is the link through to Aldridge-Brownhills

and onto Nuneaton. So three of us have something in common. But on the

point about consultation, would he agree that as a resident of one of

the -- one of the frustrating things is when you turn up in a town centre

and you find that car parking charges have gone up and you had no

idea about it. That is why consultation is important. When you

open your purse and find you haven't got the right coins to put in the

machine... I welcome the fact that this bill seeks to emphasise

consulting and listening to the views of residents. My honourable

friend knows how fast our area is developing. There is this huge

business park being developed in my constituency and dust on the border

of my honourable friend's constituency. My honourable friend

and I have been working over the years to improve the A5 and there

are some major improvements in the offing. It is of course a national

road and an important relief road when there are problems on the M6

and other roads. So I think we will see an improvement in traffic

movements generally. And if you are going to have an improvement in

traffic movements, you need an improvement in how you manage the

people who are moving around. So when the road traffic act was put

into place, I don't think anybody thought there would be the

fluctuations in patterns of shopping that we have now. We are in a new

landscape. The world has speeded up. It is a completely different world

since the advent of mobile phones and/or the electronic media. So I

think these two clauses together offer an opportunity to take into

account the views of local communities while giving councils

the flexibility to decrease parking charges and better support the goal

of thriving town centres. Mr Speaker, I have also received

support from other organisations, which is worth mentioning. There is

an organisation which is very concerned with parking. I say to my

honourable friends, we should be aware that the value of UK retail

sales was 339,000,000,020 15, providing jobs for 3.3 million

employees by 2017 in approximately 287,000 outlets. However,

increasingly, the high street has been exposed to intense competition,

including an increased rise in online shopping and out-of-town

retailing, due to the ease with which consumers can use these

options. I think this point that they raised about online shopping is

important. We saw all the stories in the press about the impact on major

stores of online shopping and how difficult it is for them to fight

back. In the Midlands, we have these huge warehouses and distribution

centres. We are particularly aware where the M1 and to join. This is

the ideal place in the middle of England. I represent geographical

middle of England. It is in my constituency. So that is important.

There is another point, the parking charges barrier to regeneration,

which colleagues might want to expand on. I give way. Just on the

point my honourable friend mentioned about online retailing, one of the

things that was highlighted in a report in 2011 highlighted the role

of the small towns, who were charging way above the average in

the UK, thus putting them at a disadvantage. Would my honourable

friend agree that it is important that town councils have the

flexibility to be able to react quickly in line with the threat from

online retail? I do agree with that, and I am about to come to the impact

of the bill will have across the country and how it will impact with

some other figures. But may I indulge first by just referring him

to the porters review, which clearly showed that car parking charges were

the biggest barrier to the regeneration of our town centres. It

is perhaps no surprise, considering that the average hourly parking

which in London is ?8.44, 18% more than the minimum wage. It is a

staggering figure. The Rethinking parking on the high street report

clearly states that footfall does reflect town centre performance,

with those towns that have higher footfall generating a high level of

spend, meaning that the high street will remain under threat from

out-of-town retail facilities and online, where lack of parking or

extensive parking is not an issue. Would my honourable friend agree,

given that he has referred to London as having expensive parking charges,

but still having a thriving business centre around places like Oxford

Street, would he agree that London operates very differently in terms

of an economy than the rest of the country and that anything like that

in any other town would have devastated the shopping centres and

high-street businesses? I do accept that London is a special case and we

don't represent London. But I thought it was instructive to make

the point that these charges are so high here. What is also important,

given my honourable friend's remarks just now, is to look at how this

provision will operate in practice. For greater accuracy, I asked the

Commons library to provide some figures for me of the scale of

natural settlements known as build-up areas to most of us in the

country. We actually have, according to the 2011 census, 56 cities, of a

population of 5000 or more and 1590 villages with a population of

between one and 5000. Each of the settlements could be affected by the

provisions of this bill. Pride is a dangerous word in parliamentary

life. I think we can get to proud sometimes, but am delighted to bring

a bill to the House which affects not just a particular constituency

matter, but has a national impact. And this bill will have huge

ramifications for business. My honourable friend, the member for

Nuneaton, is nodding. On that broader point of business and

regeneration, I wonder if maybe my honourable friend will touch on

this. Giving councils that ability to have the flexibility to reduce

their car parking charges when they deem it necessary, be it for a

specific event or whatever, that can play a vital part in regeneration,

because whilst they may not be getting the income from the car

parking, they don't have the cost associated with advertising for that

reduction in car parking, but they could get an extra income through

increasing the vibrancy of the high street through their nondomestic

rate collection, which goes back into the council. My honourable

friend for Aldridge-Brownhills has struck on a rich seam there. I am

not personally going to mine it, but no doubt she can come back with me

on this. The statistics I have just given, I should for clarity said

that those towns and cities and villages are in England. And this

bill would affect Wales, but will not be included in Wales. I don't

have the statistics for Wales. I wanted him to something that hasn't

been mentioned so far, and that is what I call unusual events.

Exceptional events. I'm going to cite two exceptional events and

suggest that this bill might be useful in those circumstances. I

have always been happy to represent the constituency of Bosworth, which

is where English history changed on the 22nd of August, 1485, when the

last of the Yorkist Plantagenet line, King Richard, died in horrid

circumstances, leaving Henry Tudor to be crowned Henry VII. Just before

the 2015 election, the mortal remains of Richard had been

discovered in a car park in Leicester. Interestingly, he was

found, the exact position was under a parking bay with the letter R on

it, which turned out to be for Rex, King of England. Just before the

2015 general election, Richard's mortal remains were taken back to

the Battle of Bosworth Field, where he had died, killed in action over

500 years earlier. The question was, just how many

people were going to turn up. I was invited, Madam Deputy Speaker, I

welcome you to the chair, I was invited to attend the proceedings of

Bosworth Field, and also to attend the events are two words in market

with a police escort, given the with a police escort, given the

narrow lanes, there was no way I could do more than one event, I

couldn't do them all. I arrived at the battlefield two hours early

because I had no idea how long that was going to take me to get there.

We had a marquee that was I think six times the size of this chamber

absolutely packed, journalists from all over the world, and the roads

were very clogged. It was an incredibly emotional experience to

see this often arrive on the field but was and then silence. A very

special day was. The point is this, special day was. The point is this,

if this gets its third reading today and comes back approved from the

other place and becomes law, for councils in a situation like that

they could at a stroke want to change the parking regulations on

the day, they might be in a situation where they realised the

charges are ridiculous and they need to process people quickly. The other

events which I wanted to refer to was completely the opposite

situation as far as traffic was concerned. That was to the solar

eclipse that took place on August the 11th 1999. Would he agree that

special events are about the community coming together and

bringing a surge of trade and the local authorities wanted to rip

people off we could see the effects like happened with the solar eclipse

in Cornwall that were people increased prices, people just

didn't,. I have a good recollection of this. The first point I would

make is that it is not about raising charges, it is about lowering

charges and grazing consultation levels. That is the sound bite. That

is what this bill is all about and that is why allows my honourable

friend to withdraw his amendment. He talks about private car park owners

who wanted to ratchet up charges in Cornwall. My honourable friend, the

member for Cornwall Southeast who is not here today he has had only dues

with car parking, nor has the honourable member for Stevenage he

has had his issues and had a successful debate in Westminster

Hall the other day, but what happened was so much in the

newspapers about the pandemonium that was going to be caused by the

huge numbers of people going to Cornwall to watch the eclipse, which

would have blocked out the light of the sun totally for about a minute,

that there was so much media hype that nobody turned up. The numbers

were way down. Quite the reverse happened. It might have been the

councils had made provision to reduced charges then suddenly

realised there was no need to do it at all. Rather than with a 21 days

and have lost revenue, in that situation the opposite would have

applied. I will be concluding my remarks soon. I wanted to refer to

what the Federation of Small Businesses said to me yesterday.

Apart from generously congratulating me on negotiating the narrows of the

rivers to get to disappoint the Private Members' Bill, said that

they are wholly supportive of the views of the measures in this bill

and that it would be an additional tool for government to support local

small businesses and ensure that they and their customers can park

and that is why it would be very welcome. The room research shows

that seven in ten small firms think parking is a priority for the future

of independent shops, independent retailers in town centres are the

engines which help make the UK's local communities what they are. In

the reports, going the extra mile, they find that small businesses are

overwhelmingly reliant on roads with nine in ten firms placing high value

on the network with so many small businesses relying on the road

network, they argue... The final point, they are clear the

consultation with businesses before making local authorities increase

the cost of parking is what we require. I thank my honourable

friend forgiving way. Would he agree with me that this is particularly

pertinent inroad communities and small market town for a lot of the

trade has to come in from villages and so one? So the accessibility and

ability to control prices in a way that facilitates the businesses that

we want to survive because there is nothing sadder than a dying High

Street, that is what we need to aim for. One is always looking for help

in this place and I think my honourable friend has made

Michaelson remarks for me. What we are talking about here is a simple

to clause bill which has been reported from a committee without

amendment that seeks to allow councils to reduced parking charges

without consultation, but insists on consultation if they want to

increase charges. Before I sit down I would just like to say to my

honourable friend the member for Torbay, I think this is a very

helpful amendment that he has proposed. He clearly feels

passionately about this issue and he is right to come to the chamber and

get us to scrutinise this in some detail, but I do hope that I have

been able to give him the reassuring study requires and I look to my

honourable friend the Minister who has responsibility for this who is

sitting on the front bench, to flesh out any point that I have not made

and give the government's approval, but that I thank my honourable

friend from Torbay. I welcome the opportunity to comment on this

amendment and the important points raised by my honourable friends, the

member for Torbay. My honourable friends and constituency neighbour,

the member for Bosworth, has already set out insignificant detail his

views in relation to this amendment and whilst I think my honourable

friend for Torbay's intentions are good, as they generally are and

generally and the best interests of his constituents, I think my

right to speak against the amendment right to speak against the amendment

that has been tabled and now I am going to take this opportunity to

separate the government's view as why we do not think that the

amendment is a good idea and why the amendment should not stand. The bill

creates the power to make regulations, to simplify the

procedure is local authorities must follow if they want to lower the

parking charges for it also introduces a consultation

requirement if local authorities want to increase parking charges.

Parking provision plays an important role in the line people to access

our high streets in town centres. Town centres continue to play a

central role in the lives of our communities and parking charges can

be an important factor when people choose which town centre they want

to visit. Some out-of-town shopping malls provide free parking and

councils therefore need to think very carefully about the level and

range of parking that is available. Parking charges will no doubt play a

very important role in the choice that people make and the government

is absolutely committed to promoting our town centres and high streets as

thriving places at the heart of our communities. If I may now turn to

the issue of consultation for increased charges. I strongly

believe that it is right and proper for local authorities to consult the

to increase charges. This is not, local communities and town centre

and I would like to stress this, and I would like to stress this,

asking councils in a very Luke List this is not about the government

way to take account the views of way to take account the views

local communities before they seek to increase charges. In May and

constituency the local District Council has decided not to listen to

views of local people, increase Parker and charges and the part --

car parking charges has dropped by ?350,000, which shows why it is so

important to consult local people, listen very carefully to what they

say because quite often the views of those local people and the views of

those business owners are the views of those very people who are going

to be using those car parts and depending on those car parts for

their livelihoods. I thank the Minister for giving away and it is

disappointing to hear that that council does not have the kind of

pro-business leadership inhabiting 2008 and 2010. Would he reassured me

that under this bill if it goes forward the government would not be

bringing it forward in a way that would be making it easier to

increase parking charges and this is purely about making it easier to

vary downwards, so we don't have consultations if you want to pay

less money. I can certainly reassure him that if a council, whether that

was in Torbay or whether it was in Nuneaton or elsewhere in the

country, did seek to increase the charges following the limitation of

this bill they would certainly have to consult with local people before

taking that decision. I can reassure my honourable friend for Torbay that

the provisions that we have before us today will not be implemented on

the day that it receives Royal assent. We want to make sure that we

have some balance to this and that the powers created are practical and

proportionate, to make sure that these measures work in practice

prior to the laying of regulations we will consult with local

authorities and the Local Government Association. We will also consult

with the British parking Association and other interested organisations

to ensure that there import important views are taken into

account before the regulations are made. Furthermore, Parliamentary

colleagues will have the opportunity to consider any regulations by the

normal procedure is for secondary legislation. My department will also

undertake a new burdens assessment to establish the administrative

affect on local authorities of this duty to consult. We also believe

that this is a measure that will strengthen local democracy by giving

people and businesses have voice in decisions on car parking charges

that impact on the vitality of any particular town centre. On that

point, do you think it is the most practical way of local businesses,

particularly when you have a business improvement district within

a time, Halesowen is going through the process of becoming a business

improvement district. Would he agree that is an appropriate forum for

local businesses to express their views about parking and charges and

its impact in town centres? As ever, my honourable friend for Hill to one

makes a very pertinent point. I am glad to hear about the business

improvement district that businesses in Halesowen are trying to bring

forward. I am also glad to say the businesses in my constituency in

Nuneaton are trying to do a very similar thing and bring broader

business improvement district. I think that is an excellent vehicle

for local businesses to be able to express the view over this type of

issue. It will be an excellent vehicle also

for the local authority, taking two into account the measures of this

bill to use that for an as one of the important consul tees that

should be consulted before parking charges are increased within a local

authority area. I welcome the news that my honourable friend's

department will be consulting on the issue of consultation and seeking

views. I understand that that may take time. Is he able to give us end

the indication as to the timescale on this bill? Does he think the

aspect over car parking charges will be in place before Christmas, given

that it has been called the Santa clause Bill? We have heard a great

deal about Santa Claus, and I am not sure whether my honourable friend

for Portsmouth bought the Santa decoration he came across in the

House shop. But perhaps he did, on the basis that once the Santa clause

Bill hopefully passes through this House, not wanted to tempt fate, he

will be able to put it on his tree next year. He said he didn't want to

tempt fate, and hopefully we will not be doing that today, but the

honourable lady makes a good point and that would certainly be our

intention, to make sure the measures in relation to areas being able to

reduce their parking charges can be brought forward to enable the

situation she mentions. Whilst I appreciate that there has been much

talk in today's Bill around car parking, would my four agree that

one of the biggest areas of contention for residents and local

people without question with this bill will help is around our local

hospitals, where we have huge problems around parking and the

facility to allow a consultation with those local people will make

sure we get some good results and good shortages put in place? I think

that consultation is always important, and the two issues are

interlinked in terms of the fact that many of the hospitals he

mentions are situated in and around town centres, which can cause all

sorts of pressures. In relation to a local authority's position, it can

also have a beneficial effect if they are able to use the measures

within this bill in a positive way that would seek to increase the

number of people using their car parks if they decide to lower

charges, which would then take pressure off other car parks. It is

also an important point that there are many town centres where there

are also many residents living around those town centre areas

where, if the parking charges are not proportionate to the situation,

people will often seek to park in the streets around a town centre and

avoid using the car parks because it is easy to walk into the town

centre, exacerbating the problems for people who live in these areas

because often, by definition, a town centre is a historic place in a

particular area. Generally, the properties around the town centre

will usually date back quite a while in history, say, the end of the 19th

century, beginning of the 20th century, when nobody had a car.

Therefore, those streets were not built for cars and there is a lot of

pressure in those streets for parking just amongst the residents

themselves. The last thing those residents want is councils that hike

parking charges up and could do that without consultation, when it would

put more pressure on those streets and the parking arrangements there.

So it is an important part of the bill to put in place a situation

where councils will consult. Would my honourable friend confirm that

the regulations also cover coach parking? There was a situation in

one of my market towns, Helmsley, where coach parking charges were

increased significantly, which then deterred tourist coaches from coming

to that town, which is a renowned market town in a tourist

destination. And that reduced the number of coaches coming to the

town. We then ran a campaign and the local authority decided to remove

those charges, which has helped tremendously in generating and

attracting new visitors to the town. I would be interested to hear the

minister's thoughts on whether this is covered also. Thank you, Madam

Deputy Speaker. I noticed that I have cleared the public gallery!

Which is an achievement in itself. As the honourable gentleman says on

the opposition front bench, not for the first time! It is always good to

be part of the legislative process where the honourable gentleman on

the front bench opposite is in his place. In terms of Helmsley, that is

an interesting example. They were the winner of the 2015 great British

high street competition, a competition that I thought at the

time would put paid to my ministerial career, because Helmsley

was in the final with Chipping Norton, and Chipping Norton was the

constituency of the former Prime Minister David Cameron. And when

Helmsley beat Chipping Norton in the final, I thought my life might not

be worth living. But I am glad to say that the former Prime Minister

did not hold it against me in that sense. But Helmsley is an important

example, because it is a place where a significant number of visitors go,

and therefore there has to be provision for things like coaches

and buses to park in those areas. The parking of buses in a bus

station is possibly subject to a different situation. And this is

something I will probably have to come back to my honourable friend

about. But I would say that in those places, we certainly have a

situation where there are many events that happen where local

traders may be heartened if the local authority were to use the

provisions that come from this bill once it becomes an act and reduce

their car parking charges. In conclusion, Madam Deputy Speaker, I

would like to say that I believe good communication between local

authorities and the public is vital for healthy democracy. This extends

to local authorities being clear about the decision-making process.

This means the public knowing why those decisions were taken,

decisions that affect individuals and their communities, decisions

that can have a profound effect on the lives and jobs of many people. I

thank the minister and particularly the member in charge, the honourable

member for Bosworth, for the comments they made in response to

the new clause. As I said, I moved this to get clear what the purpose

of this bill is and the procedures that would be created under it in

relation to local authorities and what they would be able to do. I

accept that it is right that there is a flexibility. The drive of this

bill is to make it easier to vary parking charges downwards.

Therefore, having heard the extensive reassurances provided by

the member in charge, which were particularly persuasive he has

succeeded in his goal. And having heard the reassurances from the

minister, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Is it the pleasure of

the House that new clause one be withdrawn? New clause one by Leif

withdrawn. Consideration completed, third reading what they? -- what

they? Now? Now. With your leave, I beg to move that this bill be read a

third time. If you could just say now... ! David driven it. Thank you,

Madam Deputy Speaker. I am so shocked to have got a bill through

the proceedings at this House that I forgot the procedure which I know so

well at the last moment. Thank you for guiding me correctly. As I beg

to move this third reading, I would like to make a couple of brief

remarks. It is a special moment for me to bring a bill to counter the

third bill in the House of Commons. I had three criteria for a private

member's bill. I to be sufficiently uncontroversial to pass through all

stages in the two Houses of Parliament, and I have sat through

seven parliaments in this house and seen many bills but the dust on a

Friday. I did not want to join that club. That is why I have kept it to

two clauses. Secondly, I wanted to have a national impact. Some

selecting a bill, I didn't want something that was parochial, I

wanted something that would make a difference across the country.

Thirdly, I wanted something that would improve the lives of our

constituents. To use the old-fashioned language, our duty is

to improve the condition of the people. That is what they said in

the 19th century. The modern translation is that our job is to

make people's lives better. So if I am allowed to be called a second

time, I might offer a few words of thanks, but at this point I will sit

down and say again how delighted I am that colleagues have allowed this

bill to third reading. The question is that the bill now be read for the

third time. Andy Slaughter. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a

pleasure to be here for the opposition to respond to the

honourable gentleman's bill. I wish him success with it, as my

honourable friend said at the second reading. It has the support and I am

sure it will do as he says and bring pleasure around the country. I would

say in response to the bill, check the new burdens money, make sure it

is all there at the appropriate time. Having said that, unlike last

week, when we spent some five hours looking at different stages of a

bill, I would make two short observations. The honourable member

for Torbay was making his interesting and somewhat lengthy

comment earlier. He said two things I mildly disagree with. One is that

local authorities can fill their boots with parking charges and use

it for whatever they like. Now, the facility to charge money and other

road traffic regulation act was tested in the case of outfield and

Barnett, and the conclusion there by the learned judge Mr Justice Lang

was that the 1984 act is not fiscal measure does not authorise the local

authority to charge for parking in order to rate surplus revenue for

other transport purposes, funded by the general fund. Some authorities

connected to local traffic matters, I don't think it can simply be used

for revenue. Just to help the honourable gentleman and bring a

little bit of clarity, I think he's in what he says in terms of on

street ticket revenue. But in terms of off-street car parking, there are

no current restrictions on how off-street ticket revenue is spent

by local authorities. I was interested that the bill does

deal with both on street and off-street parking. The other matter

that was mentioned by the honourable member for Torbay was that he can't

envisage circumstances when he would get letters from people asking for

parking charges to go up. That may well be true about council owned car

parks and off-street parking, but of course often it is the case of on

street parking but this is shared use between residents and those who

are nonresident who wish to park the and pay and display. Quite often,

charging is for the purposes of regulating the access between

residents and visitors and in some cases residents to ask for certain

levels of charge. I don't think it goes to the heart. The intention is

to give flexibility to local authorities and to encourage them to

more boring than raising them. I just make that point because these

matters are often fraught for councils. I hope that councils to

try to do a decent job in pleasing everybody. If they don't, they tend

to get booted out. Having made those pettifogging remarks I am not going

to prolong comments. As the responders says, he wants to make

people better -- like that of the people around the country. This been

the first matter of discussion on the bill for reducing child poverty.

If I may have humbly say as someone who has a great deal of child

poverty in the constituency which we could get onto that. I am absolutely

pleased to be able to contribute to this debate than I would like to

thank the honourable member for Bosworth for bringing forward this

Private Members' Bill for what is now the third reading. This bill

seeks to make provision for the procedure to be followed by local

authorities when varying the charges to be paid for off-street parking

and parking on designated highways. As it amends provision within the

Road traffic act of 1984 in order to convince -- in order to consider the

merits of this bill it is necessary to consider the existing powers that

local authorities have with regards to parking and hide this bill

differs from the existing regulation. Section 41 and 42 of the

Road traffic act 1991 awarded new powers to local authorities to vary

car parking charges at both designated on street parking places

and in the off-street car parks, too. I understand that the

discussions on the provision of what would be caught in the 1991 act were

fairly limited and that the only debate came at the Lords report

stage with the government introduced a new clause on off-street car

parks. The then Transport Minister said the amendment applies to the

variation of charges and off-street parking places. Local authorities

prescribing charges and off-street parking places will in the future be

able to very those charges subsequently by the simpler public

notice procedure, to be presented by regulations made by the Secretary of

State and subject to the negative resolution procedure instead of

having to make a new parking order. The powers which were provided to

the 1991 act are contained in sections 35 C and 46 a of the Road

traffic regulation act of 1984 as amended. The current procedures

regarding the ability of local authorities to amend parking charges

are stipulated also through regulations 25 of the local

authorities traffic orders procedure is in England and Wales, regulation

1996, specifically SI 1996/2489. When seeking to either increase or

decrease charges, these regulations require the local authorities to do

so and to do the following. First of all they have to publish a notice of

variation at least once in a newspaper which circulates within

the area where the charges are to be opted at least 21 days before the

proposed changes are due to come into effect. They also have two...

The relevant notice Altima specify the date when it is due to come into

force Ulster that must stipulate parking place the notice relates to

and must outline the alterations to the charges which would take effect

for each parking place. Finally, the local authority must take steps to

ensure that copies of the notice are displayed in the affected areas and

that these remain in a legible condition until the date when the

changes come into effect. Through amending the existing powers of the

Secretary of State sections 35 C and 46 a of the Road traffic act 1984,

this bill revisits the current regulations and seeks to reduce the

bureaucratic burden placed on local authorities who are seeking to

reduce the parking charges. Furthermore, this bill allows a new

condition that will mean that local authorities will need to consult if

they are looking to increase the parking charges under an existing

traffic order. The intention behind this bill is fairly clear. It seeks

to give councils more flexibility to innovate with regards to the parking

strategies and to make it easier for them to reduce car parking charges

in order to react to particular circumstances or events, many of

which we have already heard on the floor of the house today. As the

honourable member for Bosworth has rightly pointed out, parking

policies have the potential to enhance the economic viability of

our high streets and that benefits to town centres and communities

whose strike the correct talents when it comes to parking charges can

be considerable. Before entering this House, I worked in the retail

industry for 30 years, during which time I witnessed first-hand the

impact that parking strategies can have on the High Street. The

independent retailers and traders and small businesses which are the

lifeblood of our town centres rely on a balanced parking policy, which

promotes the regular turnover of parking spaces. It also must manage

traffic flows successfully and it must ensure that the level of

charges are reasonable and proportionate in relation to the

retail offer which is available to consumers. My own local authority

has sought to introduce a range of additional charges over recent years

and has miserably failed to strike such a balance. A pointer will

return to shortly. Before doing so, it is worth exploring the link

between town centre prosperity and car parking provision in more

detail. There are of course our plethora of different factors that

the town centre. For this reason, it the town centre. For this reason, it

is incredibly difficult to evidence a clear link between parking

policies and success of town centres. In 2013 a number of

different organisations, including the Association of town and city

management, the British parking Association, Springboard research

Ltd and parking downtown research International put together a report

entitled rethink parking on the High Street. It was guidance parking

provision in town and city centres. This report look to see what

evidence could be collated and what could be learnt regarding the

relationship between car parking provision and town centre success.

Through analysing a range of information using a representative

group of town centres and primary indicators, those factors which are

judged that the largest impact on the health of the town centre, the

report provides some preliminary evidence which suggests important

trends and which provides a solid foundation for comprehensive

research. Due to the wide range of variable factors at play, the method

used in the report was tightly drawn to focus on a number of specific

influences, for example instead of considering alterations of parking

the report focuses specifically on the first two hours as it was felt

that this would cover those who have partners shopping and woods

eliminate other parking habits, such as commuter parking, from the

information. The parking variables which are considered included the

cost of parking and the quality of the spaces. In relation to the many

different indicators of town centre performance, the report measured the

two key statistics of the default and spend. Finally, the individual

towns which were the subject of the report were carefully selected so as

to provide a representative sample of town centre landscapes across the

UK. Towns in each region were included in the span the entire

retail hierarchy run major city to district centre level. As a

consequence of these precise methods that were used and acknowledging

that the variables that were chosen are only able to reflect part of

this wide and complex picture, we have to be naturally cautious of any

sparing this amount of the report sparing this amount of the report

does suggest interesting finds and trends. Firstly, that the parking

operators are providing parking provision that equates to the

football levels achieved by the location. Secondly, that there is no

clear relationship between car parking charges, that is set by

parking orders for operators, and the quality offer of the location

with some live range or smaller town centre potentially overcharging.

Finally, that the mid-range and smaller groupings of centres that

charge more than the national average with regard to theirs offers

suffer a higher than higher average decline in football in 2011, the

year the information was collected. Whilst we have to be cautious and

acknowledge that this is not conclusive evidence that the cost of

parking has a tangible influence on town centre prosperity, it does open

up an avenue for further research and it conforms to the common-sense

opinion with regard to the likelihood of the existence of a

link. Indeed, the fact that the report suggest that town centres

with higher than average parking costs showed an average decline in

2011 will hardly come as a surprise to most. It is evident that further

research is required before it can be categorically stated that any

such link exists. Furthermore, this tale of any detrimental impact than

higher than average parking costs may have the High Street and habits

of consumers is also unknown and requires additional investigation.

Each town centre is unique and is exposed the widely different

external factors and so what is true in one context may not be

demonstrated in another. I ever, the initial trend as suggested by this

report certainly should act as a wake-up call for local authorities

up and down the country. The very point leads me onto the record of my

own local authority, Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, who

have had a chequered history when it comes to implementing parking

charges. During the second reading of this bill a few months ago I

challenge the notion that local authorities do not use car parking

charges as a means of generating additional revenue. Now whilst I am

not placed to comment on the choices that other local authorities have

made over the last few years, I can say a few words about Calderdale's

unflattering record in this regard. In 2012 the Cabinet of Calderdale

Council approved a raft of additional car parking charges. The

title of the paper was the parking income generation study. And the

first line of the report unashamedly made it explicitly clear that the

intention of the proposals was to generate additional revenue from

parking. The proposals included a wide-ranging additional charges were

parking was free up to then added into generate an extra ?800,000 per

annum. Some of the measures outlined in the report were a genuine temp

two manage existing parking and traffic difficulties, including

long-standing problems around Calderdale Royal Hospital for

example, many of the proposals the areas where there was no

identifiable problems of parking or traffic management. Such measures

included the introduction of evening car parking charges in car parks

which were previously free in the small market towns and villages of

my constituency, such as Brighouse, Wrekenton and West feel. As members

will be aware, local authorities are only allowed to spend parking income

on certain things. Section 55 of the Road traffic regulations act of 1984

as amended is the relevant piece of legislation here. It states that the

local authority shall keep an open account of their income and

expenditure in respect of parking places for which they are at the

local authority. Sections 55 subsection two and subsection four

other particularly prevalent parts that other what a surplus may be

spent on. These are where the council has

previously used money from a general fund to pay back money, meeting

parts of costs of provision of parking accommodation. If it appears

that the provision of further off-street accommodation is

unnecessary or undesirable for the following purposes, meeting costs

incurred whether by the local authority or some other person in

the local transport services. The purposes of highway or road

improvement projects in the local authority's area, in the case of

London authorities, meeting costs incurred by the authority in respect

of the maintenance of roads. The purposes of environmental

improvement in the local area and finally, they can use money in the

case of such local authorities as may be prescribed for any other

purposes for which the authority may lawfully incur expenditure around

parking. Of course, some of these charges which are implemented by

local authorities fit more comfortably than others within the

remit of legislation in section 55. In the examples given a few moments

ago within my own local authority, it could be argued that while the

measures to address problem parking issues around a busy hospital for

within both the letter and the spirit of the law, the proposals to

cash in on the lucrative market of evening parking charges in a busy

town centre are more questionable and difficult to justify. Local

authorities such as Calderdale will, I suspect, continue to try to defend

their actions in increasing parking charges. However tenuous the links

with a genuine desire to improve traffic situations in the area. The

judgment which has already been mentioned by the right honourable

member opposite in the case of Attfield and Barnet council

clarified the position where local authorities seek to use their powers

to charge local residents for parking explicitly in order to raise

surplus revenue for other transport purposes funded by the General fund.

In making her judgment against Barnet Council, Mrs Justice Lang

said that the council cannot set out with the objective of raising

parking charges in order to generate a surplus to fund other transport

schemes. David Attfield was able to win the case because the council was

open about increasing charges to provide revenue. The Cabinet

committee paper I alluded to earlier is produced by Calderdale Council

was frequently explicit in its overt intention to raise charges to

provide additional revenue. So I suspect that had this proposal been

formally challenged in the courts, a similar outcome to the verdict in

Attfield and Barnet may have been reached. Residents and community

groups, not to mention opposition councils and local authorities

across the country, may wish to pay attention to the ways in which local

authorities attempt to justify such increases in the future, as I am

sure Barnet Council is not unique in seeking to use motorists as cash

cows. In the absence of any further legal challenges to the practices of

local authority, it is down to residents and councillors to hold

local politicians to account. The additional charges I mentioned in

Calderdale that were improved in 2012 formally took effect in 2014.

Within months, the discontent of local residents and businesses who

were adversely affected by the charges had triggered opposition

councillors to hold a vote of no-confidence in the ruling Labour

administration and the council. The vote was carried and within weeks of

the new parking meters being installed, they were removed once

again on the orders of the new Conservative-led administration.

That is just one example of local democracy in action. However, such

is the nature of the finely balanced political landscape of Calderdale

Council that a few years later, the same Labour Cabinet once again were

in control and they are now seeking to reimpose many of the same

additional parking charges once again. The latest proposals for

additional charges affect a number of local towns including Brickhouse,

where the local business group have worked incredibly hard to

reinvigorate the town centre and to increase footfall. The efforts of

the traders in Brickhouse have seen town centre flourish and it runs

several farmers' markets every year, which bring people from across the

country. To the dismay of the traders, the residents and local

councillors, the counsellor seeking to impose on street parking charges

in the town centre despite it being widely acknowledged that there are

no problems with the flow of traffic, nor with the turnover of

parking spaces for consumers. To say the local business community are

furious is an understatement. The traders are rightly concerned about

the damaging effect that these proposals could have upon their

businesses and their livelihoods and despite making their feelings known

to the council, the local Labour politicians seem content to proceed

with their plans regardless of the scale of any opposition. This bill

makes provision for local authorities to consult interested

parties if they are seeking to increase the cost of parking

charges, to ensure the impacts of the towns are fully considered. This

can only be a positive step forward. Local businesses, residents and

councillors understand their own town centres and communities. They

are the ones who can recognise which measures will work and how their

local high street can be properly managed. It is a right that they are

consulted on any potential increases in charges and that detailed

consideration is given the impacts of such proposals on their town

centres. I appreciate that many local authorities will engage in

thorough consultation with their communities when it comes to such

issues, and I applaud them for doing so. But let me assure members that

this does not happen everywhere, so I wholeheartedly welcome the

provision within this bill to ensure that local communities are involved

in the decision-making process. I am sure that local communities such as

Brighouse will also welcome this measure and the opportunities it

will present to them to ensure that their views are taken into

consideration. During the second reading of this bill, the honourable

member from Royton, the opposition spokesman, raised questions in

relation to how the consultation process might work. He is correct in

that further detail with relation to the consultation process is indeed

required, and I trust that my honourable friend the member for

Nuneaton will elaborate upon this point later. As well as making

provision for consulting local communities, this bill also seeks to

make it easier for local authorities to lower their parking charges to

promote the economic viability of town centres. Specifically, it makes

provision for a reduction in charges without the need for the current 21

days' notice. This reform will provide local authorities with the

flexibility to react more quickly to changes and the ability to innovate

in providing additional support town centres. Many of the market towns

within my constituency, such as Hebden Bridge, are still getting

back on their feet following the devastating floods they experienced

on Boxing Day in 2015. And just as a note, Hebden Bridge won the small

market town category of the great British high street awards last

year. And that is despite the flooding, so well done to them. Many

of the businesses within these towns struggled in the months after the

floods, when footfall on the high street was significantly reduced.

This proposal would have allowed the local authority flexibility of

quickly deciding how car parking charges in those towns could have

been used as a tool to support local businesses. Ideas such as free

parking on certain days or unlimited -- a limited production dock I will

give way. Just on that point flexibility and a local authority

being able to reduce car parking charges to reflect a situation like

the flooding, would my honourable friend agree that another advantage

of that would be, when you have an issue such as flooding, those

volunteers that come from outside to help those communities through a

difficult patch, and one of my local councillors had a collection of

materials to help in that situation, it would have been a great gesture

for the council to be able to make? I would like to thank my honourable

friend for her interjection. One of the great points about the floods

was that it was not the dozens of volunteers that game, but we had

thousands of people come to the Calder Valley, as no doubt other

areas did as well. And the outpouring of support for our

communities at that time from the whole of the UK, we had people

coming from Cornwall and even overseas to help, firemen and people

bringing food, mops, buckets, cleaning materials. You are right,

it is about giving something back to those people, for example a free car

parking. It is a small gesture compared to the huge support they

gave us at that awful time. But as I have said, ideas such as parking on

certain days for free or limited reductions in charges could have

been considered. Measures such as these would have provided traders in

these towns with a boost at the time that they were struggling to attract

footfall. We don't want football, because we haven't got a football

pitch! It is now over 12 months since the flooding hit the Calder

Valley, and the effects of the floods are still being felt by many

businesses. One of the main gateways to the town centre of a limp was

destroyed by the floods and still remains closed to traffic, in effect

cutting the town of Elland in half, very similar to what we have seen in

other places. Traders and small businesses in Elland have struggled

with significantly lower levels of footfall in the past year, not least

as a consequence of the closure of that bridge. Under this bill, the

local authority could have sought to introduce an imaginative strategy to

bring people to the town. This would have provided a huge lift to the

traders and the community and would have been a clear signal that the

town was open for business. It is vital that councils have the

flexibility to reduce or suspend charges at short notice to still

elect the high street. Sometimes, this may be in relation to

exceptional circumstances such as those I have alluded to. On other

occasions, it may be to support a community event or festival, such as

reducing charges in the run-up to Christmas trading. Furthermore, it

will allow councils to experiment and innovate. In many towns, there

is a significant difference between the levels of occupation in

different car parks and on street parking bays within the same

locality. This bill will allow councils to develop temporary

incentives to increase the awareness of underutilised assets and to see

which parking strategy is best suited to areas within a town.

Requiring 21 days' notice for the announcement to be published in a

local paper in the area is both over bureaucratic and unnecessary in this

day and age. When the council is competing with the private sector,

as in many areas it also puts them at a significant competitive

disadvantage, as private firms can currently vary charges as they see

fit. With the honourable gentleman agree that it is right that there

are some restrictions in terms of making it more difficult for

councils to deal with the sort of rapacious behaviour described by his

own counsel when the Labour Party are in charge of it? My honourable

friend is correct. I refer back to the fact that I spent 30 years in

retail. I know from my experience that when there is a proper parking

strategy in place, it benefits everybody. I remember one store in

particular that I worked for, Wilkinson 's home and garden stores,

when I was a general manager in their store in Bury in the cache. --

in Lancashire. When the council there put a strategy in place for a

car park next 's, business increased by 15%, a significant uplift, just

by getting the car parking strategy right. So my honourable friend is

right. By getting the strategy and making sure that we have a proper,

open and honest debate about what can benefit all parts of towns,

whether it is the high street or the local hospital area, it can make a

huge difference not only to business, but also to residents and

people coming to the town. I thank the honourable member for

giving way. It seems to me that he is being more than a bit partisan

here. Is he aware it is often Conservative controlled councils

which make the most money from parking across the UK? I have looked

at the Independent newspaper for December 2000 15. They say

Westminster Council made an astonishing 46.4 million that year.

I would like to thank the honourable gentleman for his intervention. I

think I said earlier in my speech that actually those councils that do

it well are welcome. Sadly there are far too many and in my case, in my

own experience in a Labour-controlled council in

Calderdale, they have openly admitted it. As did Barnett, who

went to court, they were taken to court, that they use it as a cash

cow. That is why I was not being particularly partisan but pointing

out the mere fact Calderdale is a Labour-controlled council but were

honest enough to say they were using it as a cash cow. I will give way. I

made an early intervention that by trying to use comparators in central

London to the rest of the country is ridiculous. The reason why

Westminster Council makes a lot out of parking is because it is in the

very centre of London. As always my honourable friend makes a valid

point. Whether it is London, centre of Manchester, Birmingham or indeed

leads, the strategies they will have in place compared to what they would

have in small villages like Brighouse would be entirely

different. He is absolutely right. I will give way to the honourable

member. His experience contrasts with my experiences with our local

Conservative council, this is not a political point but it reflects, I

believe, a very pro-business culture in that council. One of our market

towns in Thirsk have introduced a scheme in the market square car park

with the first hour free, which has increased the turnover of shoppers

and parkers. As I think he related to in his first remarks. He makes an

incredibly valid point. As a retailer it is vitally important

that when a local resident is popping down to the town centre to

get a pint of milk or a loaf of bread, the essentials we need for

daily living, that they can do so at absolute ease. And an excellent car

parking strategy would be one that allows people to do that as fluidly

and as quickly as they possibly can. Finally, Madam Deputy Speaker, high

streets and town centres continue to play a fundamental role in the lives

of our communities and parking is one of those factors which is most

able to shape the success. If local authorities can get the correct

balance, a successful parking strategy can bring visitors. And

just on that point I would say, I mentioned the Brighouse business

initiative earlier, how they do farmers markets in our area. One of

the things they do every year is a massive 1940s we can. It brings

about 200,000 people, additional people, in. That is how initiatives

in town centres can really bring in footfall. Car parking plays a vital

role in that. It helps to reinvigorate a town centre, as well.

Certainly if the local council gets it wrong, a town centre can

experience an all too different result. Where local authorities seek

to support the high street by reducing charges, this Bill will

facilitate them and give them the flexibility to do so. If they adopt

a different approach and seek to raise charges, this Bill ensures

local people and businesses are properly consulted and the impact on

the town is fully considered before any changes are made. This Bill,

Madam Deputy is bigger, has the potential to make a lasting positive

impact upon our town centres, and I wholeheartedly support the intention

behind it. I welcome the fact the Government and opposition have

suggested they will support the Bill and I commenced the honourable

member for Bosworth for bringing it before the House. The very final

point I will make before I sit down is a message to the Minister, just

to point out that whilst he has a great knack of HMV Gallery, if you

would like to have a look at, the gallery is almost full. -- playing

to the gallery. I would also like to add my congratulations to the

honourable member for Bosworth for I think achieving his goal, which I

think is incredibly simple, but also really makes a lot of common sense.

The importance of this Bill is not to be underestimated. Certainly

Derby City Council in the last five years have made around ?20 million

from parking and fines. But for me what this does is actually enables,

instead of the money just going to parking and focusing on parking, it

actually enables us to look at what we should be doing to the city and

city regeneration and making it better and easier for people to come

in and use our cities wisely. So the provision, I think, is rightly to

aim for the flexibility. This is something of particular importance

to do this, to try to get people coming into our cities more often.

We have mentioned before the great British high-street awards and in

actual fact, the Cathedral Quarter in Derby won it last year, the

high-street of the year award. We are very proud of that. It is not to

be underestimated how we did that, because we took a challenge, which

was a centre which was built, a new centre, built ten years ago, which

at the time took away the business from other parts of the city and

offered parking and shopping all in one place. Whereas now what we have

managed to do is regenerate two other parts of the city, we are

working on that and parking plays a significant part in that. And

certainly one of the things I would look to encourage is the flexibility

councils can offer in terms of looking at other things they can do

in terms of having one Saturday per month where they offer cheaper

parking to go to certain areas, or indeed, could they have free parking

at night, or one hour in the morning, as one of my honourable

friend 's mentioned? I think this is a great opportunity. I certainly

think this is something we should absolutely consider. The work of the

bid, and we have spoken about it before, is not going to be

underestimated, because they have a challenge in terms of getting people

who would normally want to have convenience shopping to actually

take advantage of places not in our shopping centre. Therefore one of

the ways they can do this is by having very reasonable and

convenient parking. So people will think this is destination shopping

where they can go, Park readily, get out of their car, they know it will

be reasonable and they can go and do their shopping. This is where I

think we can help, certainly small businesses, to do that. And we can

encourage a two centre shopping experience as opposed to the one

centre shopping experience was seeming to dominate at one point. I

also think one of the things we take great advantage of in Derby is the

use of events. We have the Derby test, which is very well attended,

with people performing in the street, we also have Christmas

markets, farmers markets, all of which we are trying to regenerate in

an area in Derby for people to come and enjoy and seek entertainment.

Clearly one of the things that should be done on these events is to

offer a parking offer as well, to make it more attractive for people

to be able to come along and attend these events. Because there is a

danger that people tend to go to the shopping centre, park there and not

then get out of the centre to go to other places where they will find

and have entertainment. So responding to local needs is exactly

what we need to do. And I certainly see this as a great opportunity for

us. One of the things we are also trying to do is encourage people to

walk from one destination to another. At the moment that isn't

happening because you can have a cheaper offer in our centres,

meaning people are parking in the centres and staying in the centres.

Whereas if we had a cheaper parking outside of the centres, say in the

Cathedral Quarter or Saint Peter 's quarter, that would mean people are

able to park there and then go and explore other parts of our great

city. Or indeed go to the market Hall where they can experience the

delights of the Derby pie clips, which I can recommend to many

people. If you do not know what that is it is a flattened crumpet. Like

my honourable friend for Calder Valley, I have been in retail, I was

in retail before I came here for over 30 years and it is not to be

underestimated the value retail can actually have on our economy. And

certainly the Federation of small businesses have highlighted the

parking charges as one of the main issues discouraging shoppers from

visiting traditional high streets. For me one of the most important

things we can do is try and regenerate these traditional high

street is, get people back and using them. And dependence, as well. I

think these parking charges will definitely be in courage in that. --

dependents. -- encouraging that. I think again what we need to do is

make it as easy and attractive as possible for people to visit the

high-street and cities instead of sitting and doing online shopping

and it is automatically delivered to your door. Because what we are

trying to do as well, certainly in Derby city, and I suspect in a lot

of other city centres as well is to have not only a daytime economy we

are boosting, but a night-time economy, as well. It would be lovely

if we could see people walking along the high-street, having a bit of a

cafe culture that you see and taking part in what is the richness of our

Cathedral city. In my time as an MP I have taken part in small-business

Saturday each year and gunships in some of our local shops. And I have

to say... Done shifts in some of our local shops. We need to do

everything we can to get people to come to these shops. If we can get

people parking resolutely and easily and get them through the door they

will see the offer that is available is something unique and interesting.

And also something to certainly being courage. I will give way to

the honourable member. -- encouraged. Would she also agree

that one of the things of the high streets have is a small independent

trader? Which is what business Saturday is all about. And in those

shops very often you get a different offer that he would not necessarily

get on the Internet. You also get that personal service. And actually,

that is something worth having. So anything we can do to attract people

to enjoy our towns and cities and use that as leveraged, we must

encourage. Absolutely. As I mentioned earlier, we have just won

a high-street award. One of the reasons is that in the Cathedral

Quarter we have a unique offer in terms of shops that are available. I

would like to mention one of them which I think is a good way forward,

where a group of designers all get together and they all offer goods in

their shop, all very individually designed and then they take a turn

in working and selling those products. I think that is very

innovative. It is also inspirational and draws people in because you

would not get that as an example in our shopping centre. So absolutely,

I completely agree with my honourable friend. The private

sector has such an important part to play in this and again I think this

is why we should definitely... Of course I will. She makes a point

about the private sector and it is so important local authorities

consult with the private sector. Yet in York when I first located a

business and in our head offices, the council sold the car parks and

raised the charges on the remaining car parks. Really destroyed a lot of

the independent retailers in that city. Because at the same time they

were giving consent for out of town shopping centres, of which the rock

four around York, and then they gained from huge contributions back

into the council coppers, it is really anti-business in terms of

what is she says is the really important independent retailers in

our towns and city centres. Having been not just in retail but

an avid shopper for 30 years, I have on many occasions visited York. It

is a shame. Shopping centres do have their place, but we need to work in

partnership and make sure that we have two offers. As I mentioned

earlier, it is two almost defined destinations. One will be the

shopping centre and the other will be the independent retailers with a

very different for that is available. By allowing councils like

derby the freedom to set their parking charges on a more flexible

basis, we can allow local knowledge to have an impact on the local

understanding in terms of meeting local demand. At the same time, I

think it is relevant that the local authority needs to consult in terms

of whether they increase parking charges. They need to be given the

opportunity to consider whether the pay increase is correct and also

allow local people and businesses to be consulted in terms of whether it

is appropriate. Whilst I acknowledge that they still will be able to put

up prices if they choose, the opportunity to have that discussion

is important. That will mean there won't be any surprises and people

will at least know if prices are going up and it will allow

businesses and consumers to take note of that.

Finally, from my point of view, I fully support this sensible bill

that is being put forward. I can't emphasise enough the need for us to

keep supporting these retailers and independents and to keep encouraging

entrepreneurship. Parking is such a simple, effective way of encouraging

people to come into our city centres and see what the offerings. To

conclude, I give my full support to this bill. I think its provisions

are long overdue. It is one of these things that surprises me. Why hasn't

it been brought forward before? It makes so much sense. I think these

changes will be positive for villages, towns and cities up and

down the country. James Morris. I would also like to congratulate the

honourable member for Bosworth. This bill has the virtue of being very

simple, and I think that matches his criteria. It will also meet the

other criteria he laid out, so I welcome this bill and rise to

support third reading of it. High streets across the UK are under

pressure from a shift in spending from physical shops to online stop

there were 15 shop closures a day across the UK in the first half of

2016. And the number of new openings has fallen to the lowest level for

five years. That is why local authorities need to be able to do

all they can to help support local high streets and shops. And this

bill, with its simple implementation of new provisions, will give local

councils like mine the flexibility to help. I know from my own

constituency the problems local businesses are facing. Halesowen,

Craig Lee heath and Blackheath have important high streets within my

constituency that have a wide variety of shops, places of worship

Tom local services and entertainment venues which are popular among local

people. However, any time I visit one of my local high streets,

parking is nearly always the number one concern of local shop and

business owners. The Halesowen chamber of trade in particular and

local councillors in Halesowen have for a long time been campaigning for

reduced charges and where appropriate, free parking on our

local high street. Conservative councillors in Halesowen have

secured an important trial period for two hours of free parking to

help boost local footfall. If successful, I hope to see this move

extended to all council owned car parks. However, while I feel this

bill will prove useful to do Dudley bill will prove useful to do Dudley

well councils in my constituency because it would give them the

flexibility to do this more witty and more efficiently, as it stands

at the moment, local residents will need to wait until April for this

measure to come into effect. But local businesses are frustrated at

the time it takes to get this initiative going. The chamber of

trade is actively taking steps to increase footfall around the town,

looking at ideas for more activities, organising celebration

events and consulting with local businesses on what they need to help

them succeed. I would also like to take this opportunity is to

congratulate the chamber in Halesowen for the work they have

done to establish the first business improvement district within the

Dudley Boro, and hope that their well thought out is this plan is

approved next week. Traders' groups across the country organise special

promotional days to create more interest and increase the number of

people visiting, but many of these groups are frustrated by the

unnecessary bureaucracy they face when working with local councils to

set promotional incentives on parking. Many members of this House

will support their local high streets, as the honourable member

Ford Dudley North dead on small business Saturday. We should be

using campaigns like this to help our local shopkeepers. Just last

week, I visited a new business on Halesowen high street, the English

rose tea room, owned by the inspirational Gemma. She has

fulfilled her lifelong dream of owning her own business and not

allowed her challenges - she has been suffering from autism -- which

has not held her back. We should do all we can to create an environment

to help businesses like Gemma's thrive and remove barriers to

success. The Federation of Small Businesses references, as the

honourable member for Bosworth alluded to in his remarks, high

parking charges along with other issues such as changes in the way

people shop is discouraging shoppers from visiting traditional high

streets. The impact on the high street has been most seriously felt

by small retailers in smaller town centres. They agree that making it

easier to reduce car parking charges will go some way towards alleviating

this pressure. Unfortunately, as other honourable members have

pointed out, many local authorities are planning to hike parking charges

even further. The local government information unit think-tank last

year produced a report which suggested that nine in ten local

councils were considering to increase parking charges for off

street parking, despite the enormous amounts of money already raised

nationally. In my opinion, this is a short-sighted measure. It does not

address the problem facing our high streets and is just a quick method

of finding more ways to make money out of local motorists. For this

reason, it is important that local people and businesses are properly

engaged with the procedure if local council decides to increase parking

charges. It is only right that there is proper consultation on measures

which could adversely impact on local residents. This bill would

result in local authorities being required to consult interested

parties like local Traders' groups if there are seeking to increase the

cost parking charges. I welcome this. It is essential that the views

of those who work, live and rely on our high streets feel as if they

have the opportunity to make their case and that their views are

properly considered. In places like Brighouse and Hebden Bridge in my

constituency, where the local business initiatives work tirelessly

to put events on to boost footfall in the town centre, would my

honourable friend agree that those types of organisations and business

traders are the very people that need a high input into these

consultations, because they know what goes on? The honourable

gentleman makes a good point. In his constituency and my constituency,

organisations like the Halesowen chamber of trade, which has done a

huge amount of work trying to bring extra footfall into Halesowen, are

the group who should be front and centre of consultation on the

parking charges regime proposed for Halesowen, and that voice needs to

be heard. This measure is not necessarily to prohibit any increase

at all in charges. Occasionally, it may be necessary to increase charges

if the overhead costs are rising as well, especially in car parks would

require access through machines and extra staffing. It is about ensuring

the impacts on towns are fully considered and preventing increases.

On street parking often sees the same level of increases as

off-street, when the costs of providing these spaces are nowhere

near the same. This often leads to local residents feeling that they

are a cash cow, as other honourable members have pointed out, for local

authorities to plug a financial hole. A balance needs to be struck.

It is not a one size fits all situation. This bill will make it

quicker and easier for local authorities to do the right thing

where they think necessary. This measure will also allow local

authorities the flexibility to incentivise use of car parks which

are underused. These are spaces which the Council are paying to

maintain and are sitting idle with little use. This is not a benefit to

either the local authority or shopping centres. Empty car parks

can become a magnet for anti-social behaviour and crime, so it is

important for local authorities to be able to respond to declining

numbers quickly and within the best interests of the local area. The

honourable gentleman makes a salient point about when car parks fall into

disrepair. They become places of anti-social behaviour, which acts as

a double disincentive for people wanted to come to towns. I thank the

honourable lady for her intervention. I totally agree. We

mustn't allow these places to become centres of anti-social behaviour.

They are critical in getting car parking white and making them places

that people want to go. It is critical to town centre regeneration

and creating that good retail environment. I further welcome the

government's moved to look at further reforms to the local

government transparency code, which tends to ensure that motorists can

see first-hand the complete breakdown of parking charges that

their councils impose and how much they raise. There is normally a

suspicion among drivers that parking charges and penalties are being used

to increase the amount of money that local authorities can spend. Local

authorities have no legal powers to set parking charges at a higher

level than that needed to achieve the objective of relieving or

preventing congestion of traffic. This bill allows local authorities

to become more mindful of this fact. In the 2013-14 financial year,

councils received just under ?739 million from on street parking and

?599 million from off-street parking. The income received varies

wildly from counsel to counsel. The boards did not receive any income

from parking, whereas Cambridge City Council received over ?3 million

from on street parking. In total, councils in England made net profits

of 60 million and more from penalty charge notices. My own local

authorities have recorded nearly half ?1 million between them in

profit from parking charges. Local people want and deserve to have

faith that this money is being used properly. Under the last Labour

government, revenue from parking increased from 608,000,019 97 to 1.3

billion in 2010. Such parking enforcement has undermined local

high streets and I'm grateful to the government for making efforts to

rein in these overzealous and unfair rules.

I have supported the government's action on tackling higher parking

charges and aggressive parking enforcement which causes

considerable distress to thousands of motorists. I want to congratulate

the government on the measures it has used to stop parking being used

as a stealth tax, including stopping the industrial use of CCTV spy cars.

I believe it is in the best interest of my constituents and that of local

businesses and high streets that this bill, very ably introduced by

the honourable member for Boswell, will enact the link between parking

charges and the health of British high street. It cannot be under

estimated, this will make it easier for local authorities to lower their

charges to promote economic vitality in our town centres and if an

increase is to be considered, the right steps should be taken to make

sure they are properly considered. I believe these are the right measures

to help our local high streets and inject that much-needed incentive to

revive town centres and high Street in my constituency and across the

country. First, I would like to congratulate my honourable friend

Tom Bosworth in bringing forward this very important bill. It is a

dilemma and I will always be a champion of small, independent

businesses. Everything we do in terms regulation should consider the

needs of small businesses and try to create that level playing field with

large business that we absolutely need to seek to encourage the

success of the local, small, independent retailer and business.

Small, independent businesses cover around 60% of our private in sector

employed workforce and around 60% of private sector turnover, so they are

hugely important. I must declare and called house's attention to my

declaration of member's interests. We have an estate agent business,

which has 190 small, independent shops around the UK in various high

Street and market towns. We do not rely on them all in terms of

football, so it is not a big issue for us in terms of car parking and

people coming to town centres and city centres, but it is for the

general health of those towns and villages and our cities to make sure

that we absolutely have a vibrant and healthy sector in our high

streets and town centres. As our business started to grow, we started

in 1992, our business grew and we became the market leader in our town

of York which is where our first business started. We thought, this

is going quite well, we are doing OK, our business is starting to

prosper. And then three or four years another very good independent

started up later. We looked very carefully at the business and what