BPA NEWS ROUND-UP Reaching standard is an asset


Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council, has been working closely with the British Parking Association over the past three years to develop a comprehensive range of standards and qualifications. Te annual report 2010/11 from Asset Skills has now been released and is available for members to read on the BPA website. Te report highlights the role that the parking


Association Calendar


20 October 2011 Bailiff and Enforcement Special Interest Group Institution for Highways and Transportation, London


26 October 2011 North East Regional Meeting Venue tbc


2-3 November 2011 Road Expo Scotland Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh


3 November 2011 South West Regional Meeting Venue tbc


15 November 2011 London Regional Meeting


Lambeth Council


17 November 2011 Wales Group Meeting Venue tbc


24 November 2011 Healthcare Parking Special Interest Group


Solihull Hospital, Solihull


30 November 2011 Members’ Dinner Drapers’ Hall, London


sector plays in the planning, management and provision of on- and off-street parking. It also demonstrates the importance of parking in the wider provision of safe and environmentally acceptable parking facilities, achieving sustainable traffic flow


and a good interchange with public transport. In the report,


there is an outline of the BPA’s suite of National Occupational Standards, which have been migrated to the Qualifications and Credit Framework and information


about the future development of the National Occupational Standards. Te report also highlights the work that has been carried out to develop a number of qualifications in the control of parking areas, notice processing, civil enforcement and vehicle


immobilisation. In the next stage


of qualification development, the BPA and Asset Skills are working together to address the skills and competence agenda for supervisors and parking managers. Visit www.


britishparking.co.uk VIEWS SOUGHT FROM THE VALLEYS


With more than 230,000 Blue Badge holders in Wales, the Blue Badge Scheme provides a vital lifeline to disabled people. In a survey, 75 per cent of badge holders said they would go out much less without a badge. The Welsh Government is committed to ensuring that the scheme operates as efficiently as possible and is seeking the opinions of those involved in the Blue Badge scheme to


ensure it continues to offer the best options for users, while developing policies to deal with the increasing problem of Blue Badge mis-use and fraud. The scheme was introduced


in Wales in the 1970s, and the government is keen to ensure that any amendments to it reflect the huge social changes that have occurred in the 40 years since the scheme’s introduction. This consultation is seeking


views from stakeholders on a number of proposals to improve the scheme and to ensure it is administered efficiently, consistently and fairly.


STILL BILL STARTS TO MOVE


Te progress of the Protection of Freedoms Bill has been watched with interest, and some trepidation, by the parking sector because of its implications for the industry. Te BPA will


continue to give regular updates on the bill as it negotiates its way through parliament. Currently, the bill has been slightly delayed over the past few months, mainly due to clauses unrelated to the parking sector. Te Bill is likely to


clear the Commons during the autumn, after the reports stage is completed, but there could still be some


14 OCTOBER 2011


amendment. It will then move into the Lords, which will give the BPA a further chance to table amendments. Te BPA continues to lobby on aspects of the clamping ban; the Bill should have made its way through the Lords by the spring of next year and the ban on clamping/towing away could become law on


1 October 2012. Te Bill contains a


clause that will grant the industry ‘keeper liability’ if the keeper is either unwilling or unable to name the driver. Tis will only be agreed if an Independent Appeal Service (IAS) is launched. While the BPA plans to deliver an IAS, it has


set certain conditions


for this to happen: l Keeper liability across the board – for tickets issued both on the windscreen and in the


post via ANPR; l Reference on the face of the Bill to the


introduction of an IAS; l Government to specify how it proposes to deal with ‘rogue ticketing’ – we have suggested that all companies involved in parking enforcement on private land must join an accredited trade


association; and l Government to offer some form of monetary support for the set-up of an IAS, through match- funding or a loan.


www.britishparking.co.uk


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