Overview

• The government has opened an eight-week consultation on a legislation-backed Code of Practice for private parking operators across England, Scotland and Wales, closing on September 5.
• Proposed rules would keep the £100 default parking charge with a 40% discount for payment within 14 days and introduce caps on debt recovery fees.
• An independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board would be established to enforce standards and analyse enhanced industry data.
• Private companies issued 14.4 million parking notices between April 2024 and March 2025—up 13%—triggering nearly 40,000 daily DVLA data requests.
• Motoring groups say the code needs “sufficient teeth” to stop misleading signage and aggressive debt collection, a claim industry bodies counter by blaming rising fines on expanded private management.