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The Government specifically bans the practice of setting parking ticket quotas by the agents it uses to enforce parking laws, yet there are claims it's still a rife practice.
A leaked memo from a regional manager at parking enforcement company NSL seems to suggest that targets are part of daily life for a traffic warden.
The memo, which was sent to a chief warden in Kensington and Chelsea borough, suggested that some enforcers were not issuing enough tickets and that 'we should not be uncomfortable about using the disciplinary process.'
In the clearest indication yet that specific targets are set, the memo states that 'there are still a significant number of people issuing at a rate of below 0.9 per hour,' which is around seven tickets per day. NSL doesn't dispute the veracity of the memo, but explains it away by saying the company monitors the performance of its wardens, and that is what the memo refers to.
That the memo went to the Kensington and Chelsea district is significant, too, because last November Yahoo! Cars reported that the borough collected an astonishing £85 per person over the financial year 2008-2009. That's the highest per-head average in the UK, and contributed significantly to the £328m collected in total parking fines countrywide. The UK average fine per head is £6.14.
NSL is in clear breach of 2008 Department for Transport guidelines if it is indeed setting targets, but the company continues to provide traffic wardens in Kensington and Chelsea. An NSL spokesperson said: "neither NSL nor our civil enforcement officers have any incentive, financial or otherwise, linked to the issue of penalty charge notices."
It is not known whether the Department for Transport will take any action against NSL.
Mark Nichol
The Government specifically bans the practice of setting parking ticket quotas by the agents it uses to enforce parking laws, yet there are claims it's still a rife practice.
A leaked memo from a regional manager at parking enforcement company NSL seems to suggest that targets are part of daily life for a traffic warden.
The memo, which was sent to a chief warden in Kensington and Chelsea borough, suggested that some enforcers were not issuing enough tickets and that 'we should not be uncomfortable about using the disciplinary process.'
In the clearest indication yet that specific targets are set, the memo states that 'there are still a significant number of people issuing at a rate of below 0.9 per hour,' which is around seven tickets per day. NSL doesn't dispute the veracity of the memo, but explains it away by saying the company monitors the performance of its wardens, and that is what the memo refers to.
That the memo went to the Kensington and Chelsea district is significant, too, because last November Yahoo! Cars reported that the borough collected an astonishing £85 per person over the financial year 2008-2009. That's the highest per-head average in the UK, and contributed significantly to the £328m collected in total parking fines countrywide. The UK average fine per head is £6.14.
NSL is in clear breach of 2008 Department for Transport guidelines if it is indeed setting targets, but the company continues to provide traffic wardens in Kensington and Chelsea. An NSL spokesperson said: "neither NSL nor our civil enforcement officers have any incentive, financial or otherwise, linked to the issue of penalty charge notices."
It is not known whether the Department for Transport will take any action against NSL.
Mark Nichol
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