Outlawed, the ‘spy’ cameras that hit drivers for £300m
CCTV cameras that automatically issue parking fines are to be made illegal in a victory for motorists and privacy campaigners, ministers will announce today.
Static and car-mounted cameras have been used to issue at least ten million fines, totalling more than £300 million, in the past five years.
Some 75 councils currently have permission to use ‘approved devices’ rather than traffic wardens to enforce parking restrictions, under Labour’s 2004 Traffic Management Act. In these areas, a third of all
‘Unreasonable stealth fines’
parking fines are now thought to be issued via CCTV rather than parking wardens.
Councils insist the cameras help to keep roads safe, especially near schools, but the first the motorists know they have been given a fine is when it appears in the post.
Ministers have now concluded they are being used in an ‘over-zealous’ way by greedy local authorities and should be outlawed altogether in a new Deregulation Bill.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles and Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin will today announce further pro- motorist measures. These will feature a new right to allow local residents and firms to demand a review of parking in their area, including charges and the use of yellow lines, and lowering penalties that deter many motorists from appealing unfair tickets.
Mr Pickles said: ‘ CCTV spy cars can be seen lurking on every street raking in cash for greedy councils and breaking the rules that clearly state that fines should not be used to generate profit for town halls.
‘Overzealous parking enforcement and unreasonable stealth fines undermine the high street, push up the cost of living and cost local authorities more in the long term.
‘Today the Government is taking urgently needed action to ban this clear abuse of
‘Urgently needed action’
CCTV, which should be used to catch criminals and not as a cash cow.’
Parking guidance to councils will also change to prevent aggressive action by bailiffs over unpaid fines, support local shops and reinforce the prohibition against parking being used to generate profit.
The Government will also strengthen the powers of parking adjudicators, who rule on appeals against parking tickets. Ministers say this is likely to include powers to target ticket ‘hotspots’ – where large numbers of motorists are being penalised – by directing councils to stop issuing tickets or improve signage.
CCTV vehicles are expected to continue to be allowed with special permission in some limited circumstances, such as in bus lanes and accident blackspots around schools.
Dr Kevin Golding-Williams of charity Living Streets, which campaigns for the rights of pedestrians, said: ‘Inconsiderate parking can be hazardous.
‘CCTV devices can be useful tools for both monitoring and enforcement.
This hasty proposal is contrary to any strategy to encourage families to walk or cycle and once again places priority on motor traffic above the safety and ease of pedestrians.’
But Emma Carr, acting director of the anti- surveillance campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: ‘Making the use of CCTV cars illegal is a clear step towards bringing proportionality and rational decision making back to the traffic enforcement process.
‘Too many councils’ CCTV cars have become a means of boosting their revenue, with millions of pounds in fines being handed to drivers across the country.’