Agenda item

Joint report of the Divisional Directors for Highways, Transport and Parking and Customer Services and Transactions

Jackie Belton presented the report which follows the Parking Policy & Procedures document presented to Cabinet on the 26th May 2011. This document brought together all the Council’s parking policies and procedures including the implementation of a revised administrative process for Residential Parking Permits. The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet requested a detailed report exploring the options considered to administer the service and evaluating the savings and risks for each option.

Jackie said that compared to other boroughs, there is a high proportion of uninsured cars in Newham. Options 2, 4 and 6 try to improve compliance by those who are uninsured because they would have to present documents proving the vehicle is insured in order to obtain a parking permit.  The difference between the options is how they are administered and it was noted that the ideal solution was Option 4 which would achieve the Parking Service’s requirements whilst at the same time minimising face to face enquiries and maximising savings.

The Mayor noted that if option 6 was approved, it would result in a saving of £796,000, compared to the current operation. Option 4 would achieve savings of £1,403,000. Option 4 could be achieved if the DVLA, MID and VOSA shared data with Newham Council. As the DVLA have refused to share data, option 4 could not yet be implemented. If the Council were to ensure that only insured drivers were granted permits, the cost of the Council administering the process would be approximately £600,000.  The Mayor did not think that the Council could bear this cost. Instead, he considered that if a resident was a council tax payer they could be granted a permit, rather than undertaking additional checks on whether drivers were insured, which was the least cost Option 5.

Councillor McAuley did not think the Council should grant parking permits to uninsured drivers.

Councillor Crawford noted that the number of RPZs are growing and asked whether these costs had been incorporated into the proposals.

Members queried what the actual cost of the service is and asked for further information.

It was noted that for vehicles displaying a foreign equivalent of the blue badge, if they were parked illegally, traffic management officers did not have the powers to remove these vehicles.  However, police officers did have the powers to authorise removal. The Mayor requested officers to look into this.

Decision

The Mayor in consultation with Cabinet requested:

1. a review of the recharges to identify the actual costs involved in each of them;
2. to raise with the DVLA the option of accessing their database to assist in minimising non-insured vehicles on Newham roads and report progress urgently to the Mayor in case a campaign is required to ensure DVLA agreement; and
3. arrangements to be put in place for the removal of foreign vehicles displaying a disabled parking permit where they are parked illegally, including arranging police support.

Reasons for the Decision

To provide further information which will inform the future decision on the administration of Residential Parking Permits for the best value possible.

The report and decision have complied with Part 4.5, paragraph 16 of the Constitution.

The decision is not subject to the Call-In process and may be implemented immediately.