To ask Her Majesty's Government following the judgment in Barnet v The Parking Adjudicator [2006] EWHC 2357 that penalty charge notices which did not carry two dates (date of contravention and date of issue) were “a nullity from which no financial liability arises”, and the subsequent letter to local authorities from the Chief Adjudicator of the Traffic Penalty Tribunal instructing them to comply with the judgment, whether any local authorities have disregarded that advice; and, if so, which ones. [HL5329]

The Department for Transport does not hold such information. Local authorities, rather than the Government, are responsible for ensuring that their own activities are compliant with the relevant legislation.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to ensure that the same standard of compliance with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 in respect of traffic signs and road markings, which is a condition for authorising new civil parking enforcement powers to a local authority, is applied as a condition for lawful parking enforcement in local authorities that were exercising de-criminalised parking enforcement under the Road Traffic Act 1991. [HL5330]

The Department for Transport has, since late 2005, required a senior official from the local authority to confirm, in writing, six weeks before civil parking enforcement can come into force that there has been a complete review of the Traffic Regulation Orders, traffic signs and road markings within the entire proposed civil enforcement area, any deficiencies highlighted by this review have been rectified, and as a result they all conform to legislation and are consistent with one another. The Government have no plans to seek such an undertaking from local authorities that were given parking enforcement power before this requirement was introduced.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when officers of the Department for Transport and its predecessors have addressed meetings of the Joint Committee of Parking And Traffic Regulations Outside London; whether such officers have informed the joint committee in any such addresses of the condition of compliance of traffic signs and road markings with the traffic signs regulations and general directions before lawful enforcement of parking restrictions is possible; and, if not, when such instructions will be presented. [HL5331]

On 7 October 2008 the head of traffic management division at the Department for Transport (DfT) gave a speech to a meeting of the Joint Committee of Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London (PATROL), on behalf of DfT Ministers. The speech reviewed parking enforcement six months after the implementation of relevant parts of Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, and encouraged local authorities to adopt best practice in parking enforcement, in particular by taking full account of statutory guidance and carrying out regular reviews of policy and processes. DfT has no plans to address PATROL members about their duty to comply with specific items of legislation.