Parking ‘spy cars’ banned by government

CCTV ‘spy cars’ used by councils to catch unsuspecting drivers who may be parked illegally, have been banned by the government.

Over the last decade the cars have become popular among local authorities as a fast – and potentially lucrative – way of issuing parking fines.

But Whitehall has responded to concerns among drivers and shoppers by making it illegal for councils to penalise drivers using just the CCTV spy cars for on-street parking enforcement.

However councils can still use the vehicles to issue postal tickets for offences on critical routes, such as those near schools or in bus lanes.

The use of CCTV to enforce parking rules was introduced under Labour in 2004 and, according to the Press Association, 9 million fines are now given out every year, worth an estimated £1.3bn in 2010.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles was reported as saying: "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.

"Over-zealous parking enforcement and unreasonable stealth fines by post 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 CCTV, which should be used to catch criminals, and not as a cash cow."

The ban comes after a three-month consultation.

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